Nexus of All Realities
by jelispar
Summary: The M'Kraan Crystal is taking the XMen hostage inside their own minds, Chapter 12: The Phoenix lives.
1. Searching for clues

Lilandra shivered, looking out the bay window of her suite in the starship cruiser. They were now little more than twenty light years from the moon that safe housed the one thing that the Shi'ar empire had sworn to protect. From her window, the Majestrix of the Shi'ar galaxy watched as the M'Kraan Crystal pulsed in time with her own heartbeat. "Fascinatingly disturbing, isn't it Empress?", Lilandra's long time councilor A'nok asked quietly, thankfully diverting her mind from thoughts of terror.

Lilandra sighed and turned to face the group that had gathered in her chambers to discuss this new turn of events. Her gaze locked first with A'nok, before being appointed her own private councilor A'nok had served Lilandra's father in the same capacity. He was now withered by age and the torture that Lilandra's insane brother D'ken had put the man through. It was a testament to his will that he was still alive, and that same will showed out as forcefully as his unquestioned intelligence from his opaque eyes. Next was D'tar, another long time supporter of her father who had somehow managed to escape both D'ken and Deathbird's insane attempts for the throne. Her newest advisor, Ailon, stood to the right of D'tar. Young, but fanatically loyal, Ailon made Lilandra very wary that the woman was more likely to support Lilandra than the good of the empire. The last advisor, Lilandra had to suppress a shudder before looking on. Tes'ral, the representative for the council of nobles, made Lilandra nervous for two reasons. The skrull was…slimy, as far as the Empress could tell he lacked even the simplest moral ideals, and he was manipulative. Lilandra had no doubt that he had connived his way through the council and into her advisors. Yet he put her in the position where if she refused him his position, as was her right as Empress, Lilandra would look very badly in the eyes of the council, something that she could not afford.

Having made eye contact for a brief second with each of her advisors, Lilandra returned her gaze to A'nok. Careful to keep her expression and tone neutral the Empress responded. "A very keen observation, councilor." That said, she waved her staff of office toward the plush seats that sat in a corner of her private chambers. _A gift from Charles_, she thought wistfully before settling into her own personal chair, one that was built to sit a good two inches higher than the rest. Her advisors followed suit, waiting until she was settled to begin their discussion of the events that were now taking place.

As seemed to be her luck, Tes'ral was the first to voice his question, and fitting his role as the council representative it was one that bore importance only in terms of the galaxy's politics. "Empressss," he hissed and slurped, while Lilandra tried desperately not to be disgusted by the obese skrull's speech mannerisms. "The noblesh are awaiting your reacsshion to thish new development." With the last word, Tes'ral pointed his stubby finger toward the window, as if there were any doubt what "development" the skrull was referring to.

Lilandra rolled the thought around in her head, looking obligingly out the window again to where the advisor was pointing. _I am scared out of my mind_, she thought solemnly before coming up with an answer to Tes'ral's question that also answered his implied question as well, "is this a threat to our power and wealth?" Turning her ebony eyes back toward the councilman, she suddenly felt the obscene need to wipe the strings of drool off of his three chins with her fist. _But that would hardly be Empress-like_, she reminded herself. "I do not feel a need for worry yet Tes'ral." Lilandra finally answered, noticing the approving flicker from A'nok as she said it. "Tell your nobles who live near the crystal that they are free to evacuate their districts if they begin to feel threatened." Lilandra felt a small taste of satisfaction at the slight paling of Tes'ral's green hide when she mentioned "districts". _I figured as much, those greedy nobles are looking to escape to safety without worrying about any responsibility_. And by telling Tes'ral they were free to evacuate their districts, Lilandra had issued an Empirial decree that no noble could evacuate his family without getting the entire surrounding population out as well. _Leave it to the noble class to worry more about their own pockets than the safety of their people._

Tes'ral, to his credit, recovered rather quickly from Lilandra's statement. "Of course, your Majesty. I will inform the council as soon as our meeting adjourns." Her statement might cause some unease, but none of the nobles would dare to argue against what their Empress had just said.

Now that Lilandra had single handedly managed to maintain her control over the council, Ailon stepped in to take over the questioning. "It is good, your Highness, to know that you are looking after your people." The unspoken "but" hung in the air almost as heavily as the insult to Tes'ral did.

"However, your advisors feel, your Majesty, that for your own safety we should move no closer to the crystal." Leave it to D'tar to finish Ailon's statement.

Lilandra could tell that this had been a planned ambush, and one that she could hardly argue against. _How about we turn around and go about seventy thousand light years in the opposite direction?_ she felt like shouting at them gleefully. But she was the Empress, and had to be strong. "I appreciate your concern councilors." Lilandra finally answered, nodding at each in turn, "For once I must concede my wishes for a closer look." A brief glimpse of victory shown in D'tar's eyes, and Lilandra almost felt bad for what she was about to say. "I am, however, sending the Imperial Guard out to take that closer look for me."

Around the room, expressions became tight. "Not to question your judgement, Majesty," Ailon attempted not to stammer out. "But would it not be more prudent for the Imperial Guard to remain here for your Majesty's protection?"

How Lilandra wanted to agree whole-heartedly. "No, I do not believe so." Lilandra answered with a sigh. "You forget, the Imperial Guard was created to protect the M'Kraan Crystal, not the Empress. It is the job of the Guard to find the cause for these occurrences." Now that her private council looked slightly mollified, Lilandra lightened the insult ever so slightly. "I have spoken with Gladiator," Lilandra assured them. "He is certain that my safety will remain the same whether the Imperial Guard is here, or with the Crystal."

Taking that statement as the dismissal it was intended to be, the advisors rose and headed toward the doors. A'nok trailed them, stopping just before exiting the suite he turned back toward the Empress. Lilandra watched now as the M'Kraan Crystal pulsed it's brilliant fuschia. It was now slower than a heartbeat, illuminating then fading in a pattern that only the Crystal knew. "Your Highness?" her chief advisor said, clearing his throat as Lilandra reluctantly pealed her gaze away from the pink sky beyond. "The nobles will want you to account for this decision." The statement was plain, none of the Shi'ar were going to be happy with what their Empress had decided.

Lilandra nodded, "I will account for my decisions when I feel it necessary." She stated plainly, then turned back to the window, her face softening. Shaking her head, Lilandra let out a frustrated sigh. "Truthfully, A'nok?" Lilandra asked, switching to English to avoid being overheard by her bodyguards, "This gives me the creeps." She looked over to the old man and shuddered. "Something is not right here, A'nok. And whenever something isn't right I fear the worst."

A'nok smiled back at her. "You are too wise for your years, Majesty." With that he turned and left the room to ensure peace between the other advisors was maintained for the time being. It was an understood between the two that anything spoken by his Empress in English was not to be translated or repeated in Shi'ar.

Lilandra smirked at the thought of her advisors overhearing that discussion. _Not that any of them would understand what 'the creeps' means_.

* * * * *

Jean Grey Summers woke suddenly out of a tormented sleep. Sweat poured down her back, chilling her as she thought back to her dream. The M'Kraan Crystal had been calling to her, enticing her to come back. Unbidden thoughts of her time as "The Phoenix" returned and Jean shuddered. It was odd how something that had happened so long ago would still jump out and grab hold of her psyche occasionally, bringing her back to that state of complete dread as she watched herself destroy worlds.

Next to her Scott continued to sleep dreamlessly, barely even stirring while she thrashed away in the clutches of her worst nightmare. Jean looked over at her husband sardonically. Scott Summers was such a heavy sleeper that even with their psychic link he could sleep through Jean's worst bad dreams. Shaking her head, hating to wake him, but at the same time craving some kind of reassurance, she lightly poked him. No response came, and though she hated to do it, Jean resorted to her most desperate waking tactic.

Scott had no chance of defending himself as the glass of water on the nightstand mysteriously floated toward his head and tipped over. "What, what?" He spluttered, "I'm awake." Jean giggled at the sight of him sitting there swiping at his face uncomprehendingly until his mind truly woke. "Jean, why am I wet?"

The deadpan expression just made her giggle even more. "I had a nightmare," she laughed, as he shook his bangs out of his face so he could get a better look at her.

He sighed, resigned to spend the rest of the night awake consoling her, even though there was a Danger Room session scheduled for seven in the morning. "Okay," he shrugged, admiring her slender frame as she huddled herself even tighter under the blankets. "You obviously want to talk about it."

Jean shrugged, wiping the smile off her face. The one thing about Scott that drove her absolutely insane was the fact that he hated talking about things. He might go on for hours in the War Room, but in terms of their relationship if nothing was said he just assumed everything was fine. It was why she took all of her emotional problems to Ororo, rather than him, Storm always knew what to say and how to say it to make things better. "It was about the M'Kraan Crystal." Jean mumbled, and swore she could see Scott roll his eyes underneath his protective goggles. "It was stupid, Scott, it was just calling me back. I'm sorry I woke you up." Tears now replaced the sweat on her cheeks. "It just scares me when I remember what I was, and what I did."

Sighing Scott reached over, and she curled into his offered embrace. Stroking her hair, Scott waited until the last of the tears to lift her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Jean," he stated matter-of-factly. "The Phoenix is gone, you never have to worry about turning into that horrible creature again." Jean opened her mouth to protest, but Scott cut her off before she could give him the same old excuse yet again. "That was not you, Jean." He said, playfully tapping her on the nose for emphasis. "That was some cosmic entity with a bad attitude, not my sweet loveable wife." Jean let out a weak laugh, and Scott tipped her chin back, catching her mouth in a gentle but loving kiss. "It certainly wasn't the woman I know, who feels bad when she accidentally crushes an ant." Scott teased, squeezing her tighter, and pulling her down onto the bed with him.

"The poor thing was helpless!" Jean remarked, thinking back on the previous afternoon when the whole team had teased her about crushing an ant she had valiantly been trying to save from getting smooshed into the kitchen floor.

"This is the woman who's going to turn into a 'Destroyer of Worlds,'" Scott mocked. "Universe beware."

"You know," Jean remarked, settling comfortably against her husband's body, head resting on his shoulder. "You're as bad as the rest of the team, I can't help it if I have an overdeveloped conscience."

"So that's the reason you're a goody two shoes." Scott managed to get out a laugh before 

the pillow caught him in the face.

* * * * *

Gladiator shifted uneasily, his cape hanging stiff behind him due to the lack of atmosphere this deep in space. Before him spun the moon that housed the M'Kraan Crystal, making it's lazy, oblivious way through the galaxy. Had he been other than what he was, an impervious being, the pulsing light would have been too bright to look upon. As it was even Gladiator found himself shielding his eyes from the glowing fuschia moon. He would never admit this to his Guard or to the Empress, but even Gladiator felt a chill of fear down his adamantine spine at the thought of what this might possibly mean.

Stiffly signaling for his team to follow, Gladiator pushed his tremblings away and headed straight for the Crystal itself. As they headed toward the gargantuan jewel, Gladiator noted the appearance of a small vessel within the moon's orbit. _Starjammers_, his mind catalogued the misfit piece of junk that served Corsair as an intergalactic mercenary transport. Of course, any strange action in this part of the galaxy would bring the Starjammers running. It was not unusual for the Imperial Guard to run into their unwanted assistance while dealing with galactic situations. Of course, the last time the Starjammers had been this close to the Crystal was when the Phoenix had appeared, and Gladiator silently prayed to every galactic entity that he knew of that the Starjammers appearance did not forebode anything of that magnitude.

* * * * *

Onboard the Starjammer, Corsair sat, puzzling out exactly what he was seeing through the view screen. "Raza," Corsair asked, unable to completely believe his eyes. "You're sure the optical rangers aren't malfunctioning?"

Raza punched in a few more commands, bringing a string of code up on the display monitor, "All systems are fully functional, Corsair." He stated, adjusting the rangers trajectory slightly. "The presence of the Imperial Guard should justify my readings."

"Or you could look out the window." Ch'od suggested from the rear of the control deck. "Corsair, this thing is pumping out a lot of radiation."

Hepzibah nodded, and furiously typed more commands into the computer. "Eating away at shields it is, Corsair."

Corsair nodded, "Raza, pull us out of orbit, let's pay the Majestrix a visit."

* * * * *

Lilandra paced the confines of her quarters, wondering whether or not she should warn Charles and the X-Men of this new activity, or if she should not bother to involve the Earthly inhabitants with something that was not their problem. Since the Guard had left, the Crystal's patterns had become even more erratic; it would flash continuously for minutes, then stop and not flash at all for ten or twelve minutes only to burn across the sky in a continuous gleam of fuschia for five minutes straight. _But it hasn't _done_ anything yet_. Lilandra reasoned. _Why should I pull the X-Men from their home if nothing is to come of this_. However, the other half of Lilandra screamed, _This is not normal, something is horribly wrong._

The Majestrix did not get to reach a conclusion with her thought process; a communication beep distracted her from her musings. It was coming from her private line with Charles Xavier, her beloved consort. Realizing that this communication meant that Charles had probably started noticing some effects from the Crystal's actions, Lilandra felt no need to hide the truth from him. However, shock overtook her when the hologram that the communicator presented her with was not of Charles, but rather of Christopher Summers. "Corsair!" She shouted, dropping the control to the projector. The shout brought her guards inside, swarming around their Majestrix until they realized it was only a hologram that stood in the center of her room.

"Lilandra." The man smiled back aggravatingly amused by her shocked reaction.

Overcoming her start, and becoming even angrier, Lilandra composed herself before addressing the smug man. "What would be the purpose of you hijacking my personal communication frequency for this discussion?" She shouted at him, forgetting herself and addressing the man in English.

"Forget the politics, Lil." Corsair said plainly, his smile turning into the grim expression he carried mostly during battle. "This Crystal of yours is burning like a nova, eating through my ship's hull, and that Guard of yours has disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Lilandra asked, "Guardsman," Lilandra turned, addressing the nearest man. "Fetch me A'nok, now!" Promptly the guard turned and left the room at a dignified run.

"Nothing he can do." Corsair replied, referring to the orders to find A'nok. "Raza was following them, Gladiator and the rest blinked out of our sensors about twenty thousand feet before they reached the surface.

Lilandra cocked her head sideways, her Imperial headdress canting with her. "Your sensors are not the most sophisticated pieces of equipment."

Corsair ignored the insult. "Listen to me Lil! My sensors may be off sometimes, but my gut is always right. And right now my gut is telling me to believe my sensors. It's telling me something BAD is going to happen." He sat back, arms crossed over his chest and did what no other man in the galaxy dared to do, he glared defiantly at Lilandra, daring her to deny the truth of his statement.

Sighing, Lilandra shook her head at him. "My gut agrees with yours, Corsair. You and your crew may dock and board. Just promise me one thing." She asked, eyes flickering as she looked on the holographic figure.

"The sun, moon, and stars Lil." Corsair answered.

"Promise me your crew will not instigate any brawls this time." Lilandra laughed despite herself, "I have enough to deal with right now, without having to babysit."

Corsair laughed, "Lil, you know I can't promise you that."

* * * * *

Tes'ral licked his slimy lips nervously as he looked on the holographic image before him. "So," it stated emotionlessly, "the Empress has sent in the Imperial Guard?"

Tes'ral nodded, then remembered that the holographic projection was only a one way transmission. "Yesss, sssir." He answered obediantly.

"But no mention of contacting these X-Men of hers, these Earthling creatures?" The hologram asked rhetorically, pacing, while the feed camera followed the man's movement, making him appear to walk in place. "They are the key, Tes'ral." The hologram stated, planting its feet firmly.

"Ssso you have sssaid." Tes'ral agreed without really agreeing, not entirely sure what the holographic figure was attempting to get at.

"Convince her you slug!" The figure shouted, for the first time expressing some form of emotion. "If any of this is to work, the X-Men must become involved. You must convince her advisors of the importance of this fact."

"Of course." Tes'ral nodded again. Then the transmission cut out, the room went dark.


	2. Joining the fight

Slowly and gently Raza brought the Starjammer to dock with the Imperial battlecruiser that Lilandra was presently calling home. Airlocks hissed to life, while machinery hooked the two ships securely together. "Here we go crew." Corsair stated, absentmindedly tugging wrinkles out of his 'uniform.' Together, the four made their way through the last airlock and into the cruiser where, as expected, Lilandra stood waiting. "Majestrix." Corsair greeted her, bowing mockingly. Behind him Ch'od laughed. The guards surrounding the Empress somehow seemed less amused, but Corsair could see that hidden glint of humor in the Empress' eyes.

"Corsair." She nodded. "As arrogant as ever." She finished in English walking over and embracing the man who had managed to save her life more times than she could count.

"Don't forget as handsome." Corsair laughed as well, pulling out of the embrace. "Or perhaps just debonair."

Lilandra allowed the smirk to settle. "Raza, always a pleasure." She said, holding out her hand for the suave pilot to kiss. "Hepzibah." she nodded to the woman who simply nodded in return. The two had never been close, Ch'od on the other hand...

"Lilandra!" he shouted, sweeping her into a monstrous hug that had half of her guards reaching for their weapons. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

The Empress just laughed as Ch'od placed her gracefully back on her own two feet. "It is wonderful to see you too, Ch'od." Looking at them the smile slowly faded, then died. "I wish these were happier circumstances, but fate never seems to give us those. I need all the information you can give me about where my Guard is, Raza." Raza nodded dutifully, turning to retrieve any relevant files from the Starjammer database immediately. "In the meantime, I must ask the three of you to do me a more personal favor. I am in serious need of a skilled bodyguard."

Looking at the men standing behind the Empress, Corsair agreed. None were seasoned fighters, or had any espionage training from the looks of them. _Mostly the sons of minor nobility I would guess. _Corsair thought, as he finished his once over of the gathered men. It would be mere simplicity for any but the least skilled assassins to slip through their ranks, and as Christopher Summers was well aware, assassination plots seemed to always spring up at the most inopportune times. He nodded. "Anything you need Lil, for a price of course." He added with a wink.

"Of course." Lilandra agreed, her smile returning once again.

* * * * *

"How can she do this?!" Ailon came very close to screeching, as she paced the confines of the advisors' chamber nervously. "We warned her against sending the Imperial Guard, but now to take on those...those...those..." frustrated, the woman just flung her arms up in the air as if to finish her rant.

"Pirates?" D'tar suggested, sitting in a corner and sipping from his drink calmly. Out of the four of the Empresses current advisors, D'tar was the only one who did not seem vexed by the Majestrix's choice in personal bodyguards. Ailon was too young to remember D'ken, and Tes'ral simply did not care. Only A'nok and himself remembered the role that the Starjammers played in putting Lilandra on the throne. And after all, D'tar did owe the crew his life for their help in keeping him from the madman's clutches. "The Starjammers are many things, child." D'tar said to the now silent and seething figure in the middle of the room, "And trustworthy _is_ one of them. They would no more harm Lilandra than they would harm each other. They are almost as fanatically loyal to our Majestrix as _you_." That granted him a nod from A'nok, which he respectfully returned.

"But you misssss the heart of the problem." Tes'ral hissed from his corner of the room. "It doesh not matter if we or the Empresss trusht theshe Shtarjammersss." The other three looked at the skrull thoughtfully, and D'tar had to admit that this was the first time the skrull had ever offered a useful insight to any discussion. "The noblesh will never agree to having their Empresss guarded by vigilantesh."

"If they find out..." A'nok suggested.

"When they find out." Ailon corrected with doomed certainty. "What would you suggest we do, Tes'ral?" The young woman asked curiously.

D'tar would have sworn he saw the man smile viciously. "What of theshe earthlingsh the Empresss ish ssso closhe to, theshe Xss-Men?"

* * * * *

__

I just can't see the problem with testing children for the X-Factor before they enter school. Don't we as parents have a right to know if our children could be in jeopardy because they are going to school with a kid who has an out-of-control power? For Governor Ventura to just veto this bill in Minnesota, well, it just proves that the man has no respect for...

Bobby groaned, reached over and slapped the top of his alarm, hitting the snooze button without even looking at the numbers on the digital face. _I hate morning radio_, was the last thought that entered his head before he dozed back to sleep.

"Robert Drake." He thought he heard somebody calling his name, then just shrugged it off and rolled back over. The name repeated a few times and he continued to ignore it...until the crack of thunder.

"I'm up, Storm. I'm coming." He yelped, running full speed for his bathroom before she could catch him.

"Robert, this is the third time this week you have overslept!" Storm yelled to be heard over the running water of Bobby's shower.

"So?" he asked, peeking his head out the door a few minutes later, toothbrush jutting out of his mouth.

"So, it is Tuesday." Ororo stated matter-of-factly, hands on her hips. "I am heading down to the Danger Room, Robert. If you are not there in five minutes I am sending Logan up after you."

__

Geez, Bobby thought, rinsing out his mouth while he reached for his razor. _What lodged itself up her ass this morning._ "Shit." He swore, dropping the razor. The cut didn't look too bad, but the Cajun would give him holy hell for it just for kicks. Grateful that Emma had taught him this little trick, Bobby iced up for a second, then reverted back to normal, the cut no longer existent. _Good to know Frosty is useful for something_, he laughed, grabbing his uniform and donning it on his way out the door.

At least he was planning on heading out the door, when it burst open to reveal a very peeved looking Canadian. "Damn it, Logan!" Bobby shouted, nearly jumping half way across the room. "Storm said I had five minutes."

"Yah, well yer obviously not very good at tellin' time. Let's go." And with that Wolverine grabbed Bobby by the collar and dragged him very unceremoniously to the Danger Room.

"Logan, tell me you wouldn't do this if I wasn't dressed." Wolverine gave him a strange look over his shoulder while he continued to haul him towards the elevator. "For future reference." Bobby added.

Logan shrugged. "Hair's just as good to hold onto." He gave Bobby a toothy grin as he shoved him through the elevator doorway and slammed the button for the sublevels.

"And my parents wonder why I won't let them redecorate my old room." Bobby sighed. Logan just laughed.

* * * * *

__

About time! Scott thought, stiffling a yawn, as he watched Logan half push, half throw Iceman into the Danger Room. Without acknowledging the small scuffle that ensued when Bobby crashed into Archangel, Scott nodded towards the Control Room, where Xavier and Cecilia were readying the scenario. Cecilia gave him the thumbs up that meant he could start the program whenever he was ready, and Scott marched his way to the center of the room. "Let's do it, people." He said, signaling to his team that the program was about to begin. "Load Danger Room sequence Alpha 6 point 283." Scott commanded and the atmosphere in the room began to go hazy as usual. But then the walls returned to their original chrome polished color, instead of finishing the transformation.

__

Unable to comply, Cyclops. Cerebro responded, its voice eerily floating through the room. From the Control Room, Cecilia shrugged, while the Professor began typing on the Danger Room key panel.

"Cerebro, why are you unable to load scenario?" Scott asked, at a complete loss for what to do. The system had never refused any of Cyclops' orders.

__

Incoming message from Shi'ar battle cruiser, Cyclops. The computer responded, in that fake friendly voice that made tele-marketers seem so annoying. _Please stand-by while a connection is opened._

Scott didn't have to motion twice for Charles to come into the Danger Room, followed closely by Dr. Reyes. After a painstakingly long minute a holographic projection of the Majestrix of the Shi'ar empire appeared in the center of the room. "Lilandra." Xavier smiled at his beloved. Lilandra smiled back, but Cyclops could tell that it was strained.

"I wish this were merely a social call, Charles." Lilandra looked down on the floor, then back at the faces of Charles students. "X-Men, I do not enjoy calling you from your home or your planet, but I am in desperate need of your help."

"Lil, what has happened?" Xavier asked, his face becoming drawn and pensive. Scott could imagine him going over every power struggle occurring in the Shi'ar galaxy that he knew of and mentally calculating all the possibilities that would cause Lilandra to contact them directly through Cerebro.

By Xavier's reaction, Scott could see her answer was not even a remote possibility in Charles' mind. "The M'Kraan Crystal has become...active...I think would be the word. My Imperial Guard was sent to investigate and has disappeared."

"I'm sorry, Lilandra." Scott cut in. "You mean Gladiator, and the rest of the Guard have just gone missing?"

"Disappeared is more correct, but yes." Lilandra nodded sadly. "The Starjammers lost sensor contact with them before they touched down on the surface."

"The Starjammers..." Scott began, but Lilandra cut him off.

"Are here with me." Lilandra answered. "Acting as my personal body guards." That earned her some looks from the room's occupants as she continued. "Needless to say the nobles are less than happy with this situation. I need your help, X-Men, if for nothing more than to act as an Imperial Bodyguard until the true Guard can be found or replaced."

At that point, Hank, of all people, cleared his throat and stepped to the front of the room. "Not to rain on your proverbial parade, oh Empress of all things Shi'ar, but our Blackbird is in need of some...*ahem* minor repairs. I do not think we will be capable of venturing into your part of the neighborhood for another three or four months."

"Not to worry, Beast." Lilandra answered seriously. "A cruiser is already on its way to pick you up. I look forward to seeing you all." Cyclops watched her nod toward them all, but had no doubt that that last look toward the Professor had been anything but innocent.

But Bobby's voice at the back of the room took Scott's attention away from their interaction as the hologram cut out. "So are we still gonna have this Danger Room session, or can a poor man grab some breakfast before this intergalactic joyride?"

* * * * *

Rogue and Jean had both been assigned to kitchen duty in preparation for the long trip. Shi'ar food was many things, but yummy it certainly was not. Therefore, not only did everything that would go bad while they were gone have to be thrown out, but everything that could be taken with them had to be packed up for the journey. "Shugah, what's wrong?" Rogue asked, looking over at Jean as she helped prepare snacks to take on the ride towards the M'Kraan moon.

Jean just sighed melodramatically for about the fifth time. "Nothing." She replied, as she turned back toward the refrigerator to throw out the rest of the perishables.

__

An empath Ah might not be, Rogue thought as she shoved another jar of peanut butter into the suitcase on the counter, _but Ah certainly ain't no idiot._ Jean continued to sigh and moan as she went through all the food in the house, until Rogue reached her breaking point. "Nothin' my ass!" Rogue shouted. "Nothin' doesn' make yah act like a girl who just lost her favorite puppy. Now tell me what's goin' on, or so help me Gawd I'll absorb it outta yah."

__

Maybe its the fact that Ah'm shakin' celery at her. Rogue mused, as she watched Jean giggle for a second.

"I'm sorry, Rogue." Jean answered. "Last night I had a dream about the M'Kraan Crystal." She confessed, leaning across the counter so the two could face each other. "Now I'm just afraid it wasn't a dream." Shrugging, Jean turned back to her chore, leaving Rogue standing there speechless for a good minute.

__

Dear Gawd, Rogue thought, before she had time to come up with a reaction. "Oh pish!" Rogue finally shouted at her. "Y'all are such a pessimist, Mrs. Summers. Y'talkin' 'bout a coincidence, an' that's all it is." But what Jean said made Rogue nervous, which in turn made her accent come out even stronger. Even if Jean wasn't a telepath, that little clue would have let her know that Rogue was taking what she'd just been told very seriously.

"Right, what she said." A voice added, from behind Rogue's shoulder. Before Rogue could even turn around the piece of celery was swiped from her hand.

"Bobby Drake!" Rogue shouted at him. "You get outta this kitchen right this second. We'ah too busy ta deal with you an' youah games!"

"Whatever you say, Mississippi." Bobby grinned at Jean as he strutted out of the room. "Thanks for breakfast."

* * * * *

Tes'ral realized one thing, as he watched the hologram stand before him, never again did he wish to see this man smile. "Very good, Tes'ral." The image applauded him mockingly. "The Empress has finally called on her beloved X-Men to come to her side." A finger snaked out and pointed at the skrull, holding him in place, even though the hologram would never know if he ran. "Now the plan can begin."

Tes'ral grunted in agreement. "Now that the Xsh-Men are on their way, what would you have me do?" The skrull asked obediantly, awaiting the next orders that would bring him closer to the wonderful payment that awaited.

"Play dumb, Tes'ral." The hologram commanded. "I know it will be difficult for you to do, but you must act as if you know _nothing_." Sharp eyes pierced the skrull's own, and he found himself unable to resist any command given him. "Do you understand?"

Tes'ral found himself ignoring the insult and agreeing whole-heartedly with everything the person in the hologram was saying. "Of courssse, massster." Tes'ral answered. "I know nothing, if that is what your greatnessss commandsss."

"Do not dissapoint me, skrull," were the last words the hologram uttered before it blinked out of existance, leaving Tes'ral with images of wealth and power dancing through his feeble mind.


	3. Enter the spy

"So how long dis 'ere ride gon' take?" The unmistakably Cajun accent asked from one of the seats at the back of the cruiser. It had only been hours after Lilandra's transmission that the space transport unit had arrived on the mansion's front lawn and the X-Men found themselves venturing once more into the far reaches of space.

One of the pilots uttered something in Shi'ar, and Hank willingly translated. "No more than two hours my Cajun compatriot." Hank grinned at the back of the ship. "In the meantime I would suggest we all hold onto our hats, because this baby hasn't even left first gear yet."

"Uh, Hank?" Bobby asked from the second row of seats. "Did you just use a contraction?"

"Why yes, Robert, I did." Hank answered, gaining him a few laughs.

"Kay, just checkin'."

* * * * *

"Empress." D'tar said, catching Lilandra's attention. "The pilot of the space transport you sent to Earth has informed us that the X-Men are less than two Earth hours away."

"Thank you, D'tar." Lilandra replied as a dismissal, but instead of leaving D'tar remained standing in the doorway, shifting slightly on his feet. "You are dismissed councilor." Lilandra commanded, and Ch'od stepped menacingly closer.

"My apologies, Empress." D'tar stated, planting his feet firmly, "but there is more I wish to tell you." At Lilandra's nod, he continued. "The skrull is up to something, Empress. He was much too eager to have you call the X-Men after the guard disappeared."

Lilandra showed no visible signs of a reaction to that statement, but merely rebutted D'tar's argument. "As were you, councilor."

Frustrated, D'tar did the only thing he could think of that would completely gain the Empresses attention and full concern. "Empress, he hates the X-Men, out of us all he was the only one set against you choosing Xavier as your consort!" Lilandra stared aghast as D'tar continued on in English, unwavering. "It was his idea to call on the X-Men, Empress. Tell me how that makes sense?"

"How?" Lilandra asked accusingly, turning to Corsair in a fury.

"You needed somebody to look after you." Corsair shrugged, returning to filing his nails as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. "Somebody who could eavesdrop on those private conversations in English and know what the hell was going on. And somebody who could listen in on the Shi'ar conversations and, if necessary, inform you in English so nobody would be the wiser." He looked up at Lilandra and shrugged. "D'tar here seemed like a perfect candidate." Then that aggravating smile once again appeared on his lips. "I was only looking out for you, Empress."

"And I suppose you expect me to be grateful." Lilandra sighed, sinking down into a couch, with her staff of office hanging from her fingertips. "Between you and Charles one would think I was incapable of governing this empire." Then the anger left her face and she returned her attention to D'tar, still waiting impatiently in the doorway. "Very well, since I can't wipe a language out of your mind I suppose I might as well make use of you somehow D'tar." The councilor nodded nervously, and Lilandra tried very hard not to laugh at his expression. "Not like that, councilor. You are to become my new personal spy." A mischievous twinkle sparked in her eye that only the Starjammers could fully appreciate. "You are not to let A'nok know that you are fluent in English. Instead I want you to pay particular attention to your peers, especially that _skrull_, and if he so much as blinks suspiciously I want to know immediately. Is that understood, D'tar?"

The councilor merely raised an eyebrow and nodded to his Empress appreciatively. "Completely, your Majesty." With that he turned and left the room.

As soon as he was gone, Lilandra turned on Corsair. "Sometimes I swear you four are more trouble than you're worth!"

"Of course, empress." Ch'od laughed from his position at the imperial wet-bar. "That's why you love us so much!"

* * * * *

"Oh my stars and garters!"

"Robert, that is my line."

"Oh, sorry Hank."

Only half way to the imperial star cruiser and the sky outside was already glowing a brilliant fuschia color. The stars that were normally so bright in space were completely dimmed by the overpowering effects of the M'Kraan Crystal. For those who had never seen the Crystal before it was an awe-inspiring experience, for those who had it was a soul numbing realization of the true magnitude of the situation.

"So how's one little crystal making all this light?" Rogue asked ignorantly from her seat next to Storm.

"The M'Kraan Crystal isn't little Rogue." Jean answered simply, never taking her eyes off the window by her seat. "It's about the size of Australia."

Gambit let out a whistle from the back of the cabin at that comment. "Now _dat's _what I call a challenge."

"Gambit please do not joke about stealing the Crystal once we are in the Empress' presence." Xavier asked blandly from his spot to the left of the shuttle's pilot.

"Y'act like dey'd take me seriously!" Remy scoffed, shuffling his cards in a continuous pattern that didn't belie his agitation at the Professor's accusation.

"All I am saying, Gambit, is it has been stolen before, and threats to the Crystal are taken very seriously." Charles said, adding more meaning to those words with a simple look into the glowing eyes at the back of the ship. Those eyes nodded in return, conceding the Professor's point without argument.

"So Chuck." Logan asked from the front seat, breaking the uncomfortable moment of silence. "What exactly are we gonna have to do as Lil's personal body guard?"

"Hopefully nothing, Logan." Charles said, smiling at the knowing look in Wolverine's eyes. "Mostly it will be your job to follow her around, and look imposing. Something, I am sure, that will not be much of a problem."

"In that case, leave it to me, Hank, and the Cajun. The rest of you boys and girls can just sit back and enjoy the vacation." Logan said smugly, reclining even more into his chair.

"Yah sayin' Ah don' look imposin', Logan." Rogue quipped.

"Nah, chere," Gambit answered for him, "y' pout too much. It's sexy as hell, but intimidatin'? Non."

"Ah'll show you intimidatin', swamp rat." Rogue fumed, arms crossed over her chest.

"Be my guest, chere." Remy answered, leaning over the back of her seat to whisper in her ear.

"That's enough, you two." Scott finally interrupted the conversation. Remy just sat back in his seat and shrugged, but more than a few muffled laughs floated through the cockpit, especially at the blush on Rogue's face. "Now can we get serious for a minute?" After looking at each member of the team things calmed down and he gained their complete attention. "Now we know that the Imperial Guard is missing, they disappeared somewhere around here." He stated pointing to a spot on a holographic display that appeared magically at his fingertips. "From the Starjammer readouts the radiation levels around the Crystal are too high for most of us to venture too close. Now when we dock with the cruiser, we are officially acting as a replacement bodyguard. That means you are all to be on your best behavior. No instigating fights with Hepzibah." He looked at Logan meaningfully on that point. "No practical jokes." That look was meant for Bobby. "No taking matters into your own hands." Betsy was subject to a long glare on that one. "And all personal matters are to remain behind closed doors." Somehow Scott managed to pull Gambit and Rogue both into that stare. "Are we all understood?"

Nods from various people encouraged Scott to move along. "More importantly we are unofficially working in a re-con capacity. It is our job to figure out where the Guard went, and more importantly what is going on with the Crystal." That got Scott a few confused looks, but mostly grateful ones. "Now like I said, most of us won't be able to venture that close to the Crystal, so with the exception of a few we are effectively body guards. Logan, Rogue, Sam, you three are the only ones who can get anywhere near the Crystal right now." Nods went around the cabin on that. "So, as far as the Shi'ar are concerned, you did not come along on this mission. After we dock with the cruiser and exit, the three of you will remain aboard and the pilot will bring you to a place where you can deploy and reach the Crystal. Jean will remain in contact to learn about anything you find." The three members of the re-con team looked at each other and nodded satisfactorily. "Good." Scott said. "In the mean time, people, keep an eye out for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. I realize that going into an alien world we're not all sure what ordinary is, so don't be afraid to clue the Professor in, since he is our resident expert. Any questions?" Silence reigned through the cabin, and Scott took his seat again. "Good, enjoy the rest of the ride everyone, we're almost there."

* * * * *

Gladiator shivered in what he could only deem a holding cell. It was solid, not even a trace of where a door should be because there was no door, and there was no keeper. Yet still he found himself held against his will in this room, unable to move even though there were no shackles to hold him. Unable to cry out for help though nothing stopped him from using his voice, and unable to see even though nothing covered his eyes. For the first time in his entire existence the leader of the Imperial Guard felt completely helpless, though he knew no reason why. As he stood there, unable to move unbidden thoughts of his greatest regrets swam through his mind, almost as though called there by somebody other than himself. Then one thought focused and consumed him, playing out a scene before him that could only be reality. Thoughts that had plagued him for as long as he could remember floated out around him as the reality of how his life could have been different played out in front of his eyes. The thought: what if Gladiator had never been tricked into following D'ken's attempts for the throne? The truth of it all hit him hard, and Gladiator crumbled into himself with the thoughts of how he could have saved lives and made his empire stronger and weaker. For once Gladiator was presented with an unedited version of the truth, and it was too much for the impervious being to ignore. For the first time in his untold of existence, Gladiator cried.

* * * * *

"Things are going well, Tes'ral. Wouldn't you agree?" The man in the hologram asked, after the picture of Gladiator winked out of view. "Already the Crystal is active, searching, creating..."

"Of coursh." Tes'ral agreed. "You are never wrong, my Lord. But theshe Xsh-Men, they are almossst here. What would you have me do with them oncssse they arrive?"

Again the figure in the hologram smiled, sending shivers down Tes'ral's spineless back. "Like I told you before, do nothing. If I know these X-Men as well as I am sure that I do, you won't need to do anything, they will take care of everything themselves."

"Not to dissssobey you, my Lord." Tes'ral answered the figure. "But I do not undershtand."

"And you do not need to!" The hologram practically shouted. "The less you know, the less you can screw up. Just trust me that I know exactly what I am doing and everything will work out exactly like planned. Soon, I will have the Imperial Guard, the X-Men, and Lilandra bowing at my feet, Tes'ral." A finger of the hologram pointed out toward the skrull, coming uncomfortably close. "And you, my friend, will be there to see it." With that the hologram cut out, leaving the room in an uncomfortable darkness.


	4. Jahf

Normally it was difficult to keep the entire team contained for very long in such crowded conditions. Two hours in the cramped confines of a transport ship had already begun to wear on the occupants' nerves, and Charles wondered if his team of twenty and thirty-somethings would still retain their sanity after the extra six minutes it would take to depressurize the cabin. Mostly he was worried about the three that would not be joining them in the luxurious and opulent conditions that would follow the Majestrix's presence as surely as heartburn followed Logan's twelve alarm chili. This was their job, to act in dangerous situations for the good of all involved. Yet Charles couldn't help but think about the fact that the Imperial Guard had disappeared on their way to the Crystal, and what the chances were of the same thing happening to three of his own students.

"Now Logan," Hank continued on in his doctorial rant. "As the only impervious member of this rescue unit, I am urging you to consider the benefits of utilizing one of those magnificent pieces of Shi'ar technology known as 'space suits.' I realize that you're mobility might be slightly compromised, but I do not think it too wise to push the limits of your healing factor by merely supplementing your personage with an oxygen supply."

"Hank, I'll be fine!" Logan shouted for about the third time while the doctor paused for breath. "If whatever's out there goes after me a space suit ain't gonna stop it. 'N sides, I've been hit by worse radiation fer much longer 'n I'm still here." With that Logan turned to inspect his oxygen tank and officially ended the conversation, only to overhear another one going on farther back in the cabin.

"I don' like dis, chere." Remy whispered to Rogue, who was also in the process of checking and rechecking her equipment. "Promise Remy you'll be careful."

"Nah Cajun, Ah'm gonna go in there an' be reckless!" She replied over her shoulder, purposely avoiding eye contact.

"Y'know what I mean." He whispered back menacingly. "'M worried 'bout you, don' want nothin' ta happen t'ya." He tried to slip his arms around her waist from behind and hold her close, savoring their last few moments together before he disembarked, but she shrugged away from him and moved toward the front of the ship.

"Thanks f'yoah concern, Cajun, but Ah'm a big girl now. Ah can take care o' mahself." On her way to Logan's side she passed Sam, who was also involved in a conversation that she caught bits and pieces of.

Ororo stood with her hand on Sam's shoulder as the rest of the team made their way into the Imperial Star Cruiser behind her. "I know, Sam, that you have not been a member of this team for very long, but you were not chosen for this mission simply because you cannot be hurt by the radiation." Sam nodded as Storm backed away, walking towards the exit hatch. "We trust you to do what is best, Cannonball." And with that Storm turned and became the last person to leave the ship.

Behind Sam, Rogue let out a huge sigh. "Thank Gawd, Ah thought they'd nevah leave!"

Logan chuckled. "Read my mind, darlin'."

* * * * *

Stepping onto the deck of the Cruiser was almost freeing for Charles Xavier. No matter how much he loved the planet Earth, no place could be home without his beloved Empress at his side. "Lilandra." He said simply, an odd smile playing about his lips.

"Beloved, it has been far too long." The same look echoed on her face as the two took each other in, completely ignoring the dozens of people around them for a long few uncomfortable seconds for said dozens until somebody unceremoniously cleared their throat. "X-Men," Lilandra continued without missing a beat. "Welcome to my temporary home. It has been a long while since I have seen most of you. We have much to catch up on."

While most people in the room were pretty sure that last statement had been solely for Charles' benefit, Lilandra made good on her promise, greeting and making small talk with those she knew, learning the names of those with whom she was not so familiar. The chatter would have continued for longer if it had not been broken by one simple statement. "So where's this daughter-in-law I've been informed I have?"

Silence reigned as the Starjammers entered the docking bay, Corsair in the lead with Raza and Hepzibah flanking on both sides, and Ch'od towering behind. Scott stepped to the front of the group with Jean close by his side. Both men stared at each other for what seemed to be a drawn out moment of uncomfortable silence, broken by their sudden backslapping embrace. "Scott, it's been too long. I wasn't even invited to the wedding!" Corsair complained good-naturedly, leading his son and, thus, the rest of the X-Men out of the docking bay and towards their rooms behind Lilandra's lead.

"You were invited!" Scott retorted. "I seem to remember getting a brief holographic message about Brood and Kree and a really bad case of the stomach flu."

* * * * *

D'tar sat back and watched the brewing conversation with growing interest. "Now that the Xsh-Men are here I hope the noblessss will be sssatisssfied that the Empresh isss adequately protected."

"I fear the Council does not favor the X-Men as much as you do Tes'ral." A'nok replied, sipping languidly from his mug of kresvl, the Shi'ar version of tea. "In fact I wasn't aware you were such a big fan of these earthlings."

The statement was a challenge more than anything else, and D'tar pretended to close his eyes disinterestedly so that he could focus more on the Skrull's tone as he answered. "I trusht them more than thoshe pathetic Sssstarjammerssss asss far asssss protecting the Empressss issssss concssserned." The skrull replied crossly, but from the amount of hissing he was producing D'tar could tell that Tes'ral was lying through his teeth, and afraid of having the truth discovered. Tes'ral was nervous.

"Personally I would feel better if they had brought the entire team." Ailon stated nonchalantly from where she lounged on the other side of the room. "Especially if they had not left that short, beastly looking one behind."

D'tar opened his eyes just in time to catch the Skrull jump. "Left them behind?" He questioned, whiping the drool from his face in an effort to cover his shock. "I wassss to believe that all the earthlingssss would be arriving together."

Realizing the suspiciousness of his continuing silence, D'tar let out an aggravated grunt, pinching the bridge of his nose as if trying to stave off a headache. "I am sure that the small army of earth creatures that Xavier fellow brought along will be more than enough to protect the Empress and give the cleaning crew nightmares. Including Xavier I counted at least ten of them."

Ailon giggled. "I didn't see the woman who usually goes toe to toe with Gladiator either. She probably figured there was no point in coming if her sparring partner wasn't available."

"Perhaps child," A'nok said, pointing a finger at her. "You did notice that the Phoenix was among them. I do not like anything that brings that creature so close to the Crystal."

"Nor I." D'tar stated firmly. Ailon let out a grunt, and Tes'ral hissed in reply, though whether it was one of surprise or pleasure D'tar was not sure.

* * * * *

The small transport vessel slowed as it neared the moon until it came to a complete stop. The pilot turned, uttering something in Shi'ar and motioning violently towards the door. "Ah think this is where we get off boys." Rogue said as the three of them stepped through the airlock, preparing to be cycled out into space. _Jeannie, if'n yah can hear me, we're leavin' tha shuttle, an' headin' towards that purply Crystal thang. Catch ya on tha surface._ Jean's reply came not in words, but a mental head nod that meant she had gotten the message loud and clear and would wait to hear from them when they made it onto the surface.

That done Logan hit the panel that opened the hatch and the three X-Men were sucked out into the vacuum of space. Rocket packs powered on and together the three sailed through nothingness towards the moon. They were almost there, the pitted surface starting to resemble the crater covered rock that it was when the Crystal started to glow more brightly, getting stronger and stronger until it burned through closed eyelids. "I don't like this one bit!" Logan shouted into his communicator, but the message never reached his companions as the Crystal gave off a final flash and all three were gone.

* * * * *

"Bobby!" Warren shouted, finally fed up with the frozen man's actions. "If you don't stop pacing I might have to kill you."

Iceman shrugged and took a seat in one of the lounge chairs that sat around the pool area the two were supposed to be 'guarding.' "What do you want, Warren. This is BO-RING! Raza's info from the Starjammer is worthless, so all we can do is sit here and guard a POOL while we wait for those three to give Jeanie a mental call back."

Angel shrugged and let his wings fall luxuriously around him. "What can I say Bobbo, nobody ever told us that the Superhero business wasn't all battle, gore, and heroic deaths. Sometimes you just have to lounge around a pool and stare at the hotties. Life can suck." For emphasis, Warren gave a slight wave to one of the Shi'ar women who had been eyeing him for the past hour. He was about to motion for her to come join him when Charles' mental call made him almost fall out of his chair. _All X-Men, report to Lilandra's chambers immediately! This is an emergency!_

"So much for Babe Watch." Bobby shouted as the two raced out the door and down the hall toward the Empress' private chambers, as many of their teammates joined them in their mad dash.

Once inside the Majestrix' chambers, the entire team came to an abrupt halt, not even bothering to waste the time sitting down. "What?" was all Warren had to ask.

A telekinetic nudge shut the door and bolted it before Jean began. "I lost contact with the re-con team. They aren't responding telepathically, and the sensor readouts aren't picking them up."

"Could they have gone inside some kind of shield or something?" Bobby asked, thinking of the most likely scenarios.

"No." Lilandra stated frankly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "Your teammates were farther away from the Crystal than the Guard was when it disappeared, and there would not be a shield around the Crystal that I did not know about."

"So what den?" Gambit asked from his spot by a window. "Did de Crystal swallow dem?"

"It's a possibility." Jean said frankly to the Cajun who scoffed and returned to studying the window. "But I won't lie to you, this has me very worried. It's as if they completely ceased to exist."

* * * * *

Sam shook his head, and still the cobwebs refused to clear, so he shook it once more for emphasis. Slowly he moved each of his limbs more in an effort to make sure he still had them than anything else. Once he was sure that arms, legs, hands, feet, and head were still firmly attached Sam began the slow climb to his feet. Then he began trying to puzzle out what exactly had happened. He didn't remember falling, but he probably wouldn't either. He certainly didn't remember taking off his oxygen and rocket pack, but they were nowhere to found. That meant somebody had taken them, one of his other teammates perhaps. "Rogue?" He coughed, leaning himself against a wall for support. "Logan?"

"They aren't gonna answer you." A voice replied, floating to him through the darkness that was finally beginning to vanish.

"Why not?" Sam shouted, not sure exactly which direction the voice was coming from.

"Because," and a short blue furred creature walked into the ever widening circle of light, its gray mohawk swaying as it moved. "They aren't here." Sam just stared at the creature uncomprehendingly for what seemed like hours before he could get his mouth to open and close successfully. "I'm Jahf by the way." It continued as if oblivious to Sam's earlier lack of vocal response.

"Who?" Sam finally managed to spit out, making the creatures enormous gray eyes light up in amusement.

"Ja-ahf." It stated slowly, pointing at itself. "Welcome, Mr. Guthrie, to the M'kraan Crystal, the Nexus of all Realities." And with a sweep of his little arms the darkness faded completely giving way to a slightly fuschia tinted light.

"How?" Sam muttered, following along obediantly as Jahf led the way to a destination that Sam couldn't imagine.

"That," Jahf answered, "is a bit more complicated." Abruptly Jahf stopped, and rounded on Sam. "Tell me Sam, what do you know about the Crystal?"

Sam, also stopped, scratched at his head for a second. "That it's more trouble than it's worth, that's foh sure." Jahf gave him an amused grunt for that answer. "I 'member Jean said sumthin' 'bout it connectin' differnt realities, almost lahk a wormhole connects differnt sections o' space in them Star Trek movies."

"Very good, Sam." Jahf applauded mockingly, then continued on his way to wherever he was headed. "That's almost exactly right, imagine reality as a koosh ball Sam, we are at the very center where all those little strings tie together."

"Oh." Sam replied, then stopped in shock as they entered a giant room that looked infinitesimally huge, as if it contained the entire universe in one fell gulp. "So where are my teammates?" Sam asked, trying to take in the entirety of the room and trying not to let his head spin in the process.

"Hopefully on their way here." Jahf stated, for the first time beginning to look nervous. "Hopefully the Crystal hasn't gotten them yet."

* * * * *

The first thing Logan was aware of was the lack of scent, nothing had a smell, not even that freshly washed clean smell. The second thing he noticed was that whoever had taken him to this place was not holding him captive, he could walk around, move, talk, whatever he wanted. Last thing he noticed was that neither Sam or Rogue were anywhere to be found. Worry started to build up inside, and worry brought thoughts that he'd rather not dwell on. Thoughts about his teammates and their well-being, thoughts about the ones who weren't on this mission, thoughts about Jean. He shook them off violently, these were not Logan's thoughts. He had been trained too long not to realize the feeling of something else sifting through his brain. Instantly the shields went up and Logan ran, the direction did not matter so long as he could outrun the force trying to creep inside his mind.

* * * * *

Tes'ral hissed as he watched first Sam then Logan work their way out of the Crystal's clutches, attempting to spoil his master's perfect plan. "It is upsetting Tes'ral, I am aware." The hologram of his master appeared before him as the previous feed cut out. "But, we will find a way to make it work. This third one may offer us some possibilities." Tes'ral found it hard to contain the laugh that emanated from him at the sight of this third unwilling participant.

* * * * *

Rogue had not stood a chance. From the moment she awoke there was only one thought on her mind: Remy. From there it was not difficult for the Crystal to ferret out her deepest desire, control over her powers. A doorway opened beneath her, seemingly out of thin air, and Rogue was no longer inside the Crystal, but home in the mansion.

It was the unfamiliar weight that woke her in the first place. It was concentrated mainly across her stomach. With a start Rogue jumped out of bed, tripped over the lamp that shouldn't have been where it was, crashed into and broke the mirror, and woke the other occupant in the room. "Christ, chere! Y' gotta be playin' destructo derby in here dis early in de mornin'!"

"Remy!" Rogue cried out, realizing all of a sudden how naked she was, and hastily covering herself with a bed sheet. "What are yah doin' in mah room!" Then waking hit fully. "Naked, in mah bed!"

"Well I was sleepin', till y' decided t'start breakin' everyt'ing. As f'de 'naked' part," he said, smiling seductively. "Y' never seemed t'care b'fore. An' since when is dis _your_ room?"

Unable to comprehend what exactly was going on, and completely unable to come up with a decent argument Rogue just began searching for her clothes. She looked under the bed, on the chairs, under the chairs, everywhere to no avail, much to Remy's amusement. "_Chere, pour quoi du monde cherches-tu?_*"

Rogue looked up at him angrily, eyes level with the mattress. "For mah clothes, swamp rat." She said keeping her tone even.

Remy looked at her oddly for a second, then shook his head as if to say it wasn't worth asking. "Did y'try de closet?"

Rogue just glared at him, then made her way over to the closet, gallantly trying not to trip over her bed sheet. When she opened the closet she found her clothes alright, and Gambit's, lined up evenly on opposite sides of the closet, shoes in tidy rows underneath. Rogue stepped back from the closet door as if stung, only to step right into Gambit's arms. "Why y'be needin' clothes anyway, _mon amour_?" He whispered seductively in her ear, his hands searching for a way through the sheet. She went completely rigid, realizing that she was naked underneath that sheet, and Gambit was clothed only in the boxers he had donned at some point between the bed and the closet. Remy was never careful, one touch and it would all be over, oblivion for him and more nightmares for her. 

Slowly he turned her so she faced him, and reached up with his left hand to tilt her chin. It was then that Rogue noticed the flash of gold. "What the hell!" She shouted, jumping back out of his embrace and almost landing back in the closet. "Remy that's a wedding ring!" She accused, pointing at the band of gold around his left ring finger as if it were the devil himself.

"Y' jus' realizin' dis now?" He laughed, reaching for her again.

This time she did step into the closet. "Ah thought ya'd divorced that bayou hussy y' married!" She screamed, pointing at him with her left hand, then noticing a similar golden ring around her own finger. "When the hell did Ah get married?!" She shouted even louder, holding her hand up to her face in complete horror, the connection not quite arrived at in her brain.

Making soothing noises, Remy coaxed her out of the closet and back to the bed to sit down. "Well, chere. If y'count t'day, y' got married t'ree weeks an' four days ago to de most handsome, charming man in de world." Rogue stared at him blankly. "Chere, dis is de part where y'say 'Yah forgot dashing, 'n sexy, 'n talented ecetera, ecetera'." He teased, mimicking her accent as closely as he could.

"Ah married YOU!" Rogue accused.

"Gee, chere," Remy said, running his hands through his already mussed up hair. "When y'put it dat way, makes me jus' feel all warm n' cozy inside." Suddenly leaning towards her, Remy kissed her deeply and Rogue froze. Then he sat back and frowned at her, and Rogue looked at him in shock that he was still alive. "Guess I'll jus' go take a shower den, get ready f'r dat early mornin' trainin' session wit Jean. Get some more sleep, _mon amour_, mebbe y'll feel more like y'self." Before he slipped through the bathroom door, he turned around and looked Rogue in the eyes. "I love you." He said forcefully, then disappeared into the bathroom.

* * * * *

"The Phoenix issss ssstill alive in that reality." Tes'ral hissed as the images again were replaced by his master's grizzled visage. "Perhapsss in another..."

"Patience, Tes'ral." His master cut him off. "We still have nine X-Men to go. Surely the Crystal can connect one of them to a reality in which the Phoenix does not exist." The master rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Until then, Tes'ral, we have all the time in the world."

* translation: "What in world are you looking for?"

AN: Ha! Tricked you, I moved it! Now don't worry, all the characters will get their own little spotlight, and some might not end up so...predictable as Rogue's, but then again not all characters are as predictable as Rogue either. For those of you who are confused, the characters aren't just going on a mental trip, hence the door. They are actually being sent into different realities. Is this worse than we suspect? Who is behind it? When will Hank discover Nair for Men? Yah, so anyway RRE (read, review, and enjoy). Next chapter: Who shall fall to the Crystal's clutches, and what does D'tar learn of Tes'ral?


	5. Game Over

He didn't know how long he had been running, but there was still no sign of a living soul. Frustrated, the claws normally hidden in his hands pushed their way out between his knuckles. Logan looked down at the bone claws, and the same thought that always entered his mind surfaced: If only they were adamantium. In the darkness Logan could not see the doorway open before him until it was too late.

* * * * *

Tes'ral laughed as he watched the second victim wake into the world that could have been, had things worked out differently.

* * * * *

Logan felt...old. He stood on the mansion grounds from where he'd been napping just minutes before. _That ain't right_. The thought flowed through his head as he grasped for what wasn't right about the whole situation, then it hit him. _Smoke! What th' hell!_ It was his last thought before the entire building burst into flame before his very eyes. "Merde!" he heard someone say as they ran up behind him. "Logan, we gotta get dem outta dere!" Somewhere in his mind the 'them' registered as his teammates and Logan took off at a run behind the flowing trenchcoat of the Cajun.

The heat off the building was unbelievable, the brick was actually starting to melt. "NO!" Logan shouted as Gambit began to climb through a window. "I need you out here to get the injured. This," he indicated the flames pouring out of windows with a sweep of his arm. "It can't hurt me." The Cajun nodded and without a second thought Logan dove through the window.

The heat took away almost any oxygen that Logan could have taken in, leaving him with barely enough to survive. That would have to be enough. Claws unsheathed automatically, and he reveled in the feeling of the metal cutting clean through his skin. Then he stopped, looking at his hands, his claws had not been metal since before Magneto ripped the adamantium out of his body. _I don't know what game you're playing Onslaught, but I'm not playing anymore. _Instinctively he made his way towards the underground, knowing that if anybody had survived that initial blast they would be in the lower levels. The going was slow, Logan found himself running into more debris than passageway, but at all costs he had to get down there, had to see if anybody was still alive. Where had they all been when this happened? _The War Room._ As fast as he could, Logan ran towards the War Room, hoping against all odds that somebody was still alive.

She took his breath away, standing in the center of the table, surrounded by the ashes of those who had once been friends. But she was no longer the same woman who had captivated Logan's every thought since the moment he'd laid eyes on her. Her red hair glowed with dark flame, mimicked cruelly in her eyes. She was no longer Jean Grey. Now and forever she was the Phoenix. She said no word as she reached out to him with fingers of death. Logan's last thought was, ironically, a prayer. _Dear God, let the Cajun make it out of here alive to spread the news and get revenge_.

* * * * *

A low growl escaped Tes'ral's throat as yet another scenario evaded their purpose. The hologram of his Master made a soothing sound as it faced him. "Do not become discouraged Tes'ral." It said, moving to sit on a chair that the skrull could only imagine. "As I said, we yet have many possibilities to explore."

* * * * *

"Whoa, wait. Let me get this straight." Bobby said, holding up his hands defensively. "The Guard went to check out the Crystal and disappeared. Logan, Rogue and Sam went to check out the Crystal and disappeared. Now you want to send more of us down there to rescue them? What's gonna stop us from disappearing, Cyke?"

"T'ird times a charm?" Gambit spat sarcastically at Iceman.

"We can't just leave them down there, Bobby." Cecilia remarked from her spot at the table.

Bobby glared at the two of them. "I'm not saying we should, it's just that..."

"Three of our teammates have gone missing and need to be rescued." Scott finished for Iceman. "And we do what we have to do to bring them home safe. Unless somebody else has a better idea of how to reach them, going into the Crystal is the only way."

"So it simply becomes a matter of who shall go, and who shall remain behind." Hank commented from his perch atop his chair.

"You realize I cannot let you do this." Lilandra stated simply as she stared out the window. "It is my job as Empress to protect the M'Kraan Crystal. Had I known you were sending team members in to begin with I would have forbid it."

"Lilandra." Charles moved to her side. "You must understand my students..."

"Never should have ventured near the Crystal to begin with." Lilandra shook her head, turning her gaze to the floor. "I am sorry my beloved, but my duty to my people comes before your students."

* * * * *

"So you don't know where mah friends are?" Sam asked, following Jahf around as he meandered through the cavern like a man lost.

"It's like I told you Sam, it's not quite as simple as that." Sitting down abruptly Jahf grabbed Sam by the sleeve and tugged him down onto the floor too. "It's not like looking at a map, where I can ask you where North Dakota is and you point it out. Lately the Crystal has...well...I guess you could say freaked out. Its been capturing people from the real reality and using them to access alternative realities. Like its searching for something. So you see, finding your friends isn't as simple as they're in North Dakota. You have to find out which North Dakota they're in, got it?"

"Ah think Ah understand." Sam said, shaking his head trying to get all the information to settle properly. Satisfied Jahf stood back up and continued making his way through the cavern. "So, Jahf, what exactly are yah doin' anyway?" Sam asked as the little man looked around the room for a second then continued on his way.

"I'm looking for the problem." Jahf stated. "This is the heart of the Crystal where all the realities are stored. And somewhere in here, two of them are getting tangled. Or I should say one of them is getting tangled with the real reality."

"Real reality?" Sam asked, feeling more lost as the conversation progressed.

"Remember the Koosh ball Sam?" Jahf asked, waving his hand in the air then moving on again. "The real reality is the string that you're holding onto, and if something major happens you grab a different string. See reality couldn't care less if you have ham or turkey for lunch. Unless you end up dying if you eat the turkey because it was poisoned, reality won't change. But when something happens that makes a reality impossible to maintain it folds upon itself and another string gets designated as the real reality." Sam shook his head uncomprehendingly. "I know it makes no sense, I'm simplifying it too much for you to really understand it, but if I told you the whole truth," Jahf paused for dramatic effect. "Your head would explode, then we'd switch realities, and I'm not allowed to affect reality directly, therefore I must keep your head intact." For some reason Jahf found this fact exceedingly funny, and he chuckled as he continued to weave his way around the cavern.

"Well at least Ah don't haveta worry 'bout yah killin' me." Sam muttered, continuing to follow Jahf around the 'center of the Nexus of All Realities.'

* * * * *

The sound of the shower cut out just as Rogue had finally mustered up enough nerve to confront her 'husband'. He stepped out of the bathroom, hair longer than she remembered it being for a long time disheveled from the vigorous treatment it was getting from the towel. Muscles were more refined than they appeared through fabric, his lean frame much more apparent. A thin line of hair ran from his navel down past his towel, and Rogue blushed slightly for looking. "Quoi?" Remy asked, his line of vision no longer obstructed by his unruly hair. Rogue blushed even harder, bringing a smirk to quiver along the edge of Gambit's lips. "Y' lookin' at me like y' seein' dis f'r de first time, chere." He laughed. Turning to the closet, he grabbed a combat uniform randomly, then went over to the dresser to get underwear and such. Tossing all but the boxer/briefs onto the bed next to her, Remy unceremoniously removed the towel from his waist. Rogue gasped in shock, even earlier when he had been nude, the blankets had covered parts unmentionable. Now there he stood completely in the buff, and Rogue couldn't help but stare.

Remy had heard her gasp, and turned slightly at the sound, but didn't approach her until he had, thankfully, put on his underwear. "Rogue," he said forcefully, grabbing her chin and making her look him in the eyes. "What is wrong?" He clearly enunciated every word, letting her chin go on the final syllable, then stepping back.

Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks as Rogue looked at the pain she was obviously causing him swirl through his fiery eyes. "Ah'm sorry, Remy." She whispered from where she sat on the bed. "Ah just don't remember any o' this."

* * * * *

"So WHAT den?!" Remy shouted, bringing all his anger into his words. "We jus' sposed ta leave dem down dere? I don' care what galaxy you Empress of, I ain' leavin' Rogue ta some Crystal." If it were possible sparks would have flown from the Cajun's glowing eyes.

"Nobody is saying we are going to, Remy." Ororo murmured calmly into his ear. Gambit backed down slightly and returned to pacing the confines of Lilandra's chamber.

"I am afraid _I_ am saying you will _have_ to." Lilandra contradicted.

"Not like this, Gambit." Hank said, placing restraining hands on the Cajun's shoulders and holding him in place before he could lunge for Lilandra.

Similar arguments were going on around the room, while the Professor sat in his hoverchair, hands steepled in thought. Finally, Charles mused he had reached his breaking point. "I have had enough of this game, Lilandra." Charles said slowly but evenly cutting through the rest of the noise throughout the room. Lilandra opened her mouth to protest, but Charles did not let her get a single sound out. "You know what game I am talking about, Lil. You ask my students to leave their home and be your bodyguard, you ask favors of them, ask them to do your bidding because it is convenient for you, because you need their help. They risk their lives looking for your Imperial Guard..."

"I did not ask them to." Lilandra replied defiantly.

"NO!" Charles answered, raising his voice dangerously. "But they do so anyway, they do it for you! My students owe you no allegiance, Lilandra. We humans are not a part of your wondrous Shi'ar Empire. An empire you rule because my students helped you maintain your throne. I will not have you use them simply when it is convenient, only to cast them aside when it is not. You may be my love, Lilandra, but my students are my hopes, my dreams...my life." He looked past her to each of his pupils momentarily before returning his focus to her. "In the end there is no question as to which I value more." With that Charles Xavier turned his back not only to the love of his life, but to the most powerful woman in the known universe. "My X-Men, I believe we have teammates that need our help."


	6. Caught in the Details

AN: I'm ALIVE, I'M ALIVE!!!! The evil combination of work and school tried to keep me from posting, but I have managed to keep them at bay long enough to send you this. Always remember, if somebody asks you if you can work overtime JUST SAY NO!!!! Since it takes too much time to update my profile I'm doing it here. Work is alot, school is a little bit less. I actually have time to think, even write occasionally. Believe it or not, this chapter is a culmination of almost six months worth of free time (its so short still that I want to cry). But it's good, at least my mommy says so. This is the last you'll all probably hear from me for the next few months, but fear not, summer is coming (There may be a foot of snow on the ground, but I can still feel it. DAMN YOU PUNXATONY PHIL!!!) Hope you enjoy...don't forget to review! Oh, and before I forget: DISCLAIMER: Author cannot be held responsible for any damage to characters she does not own incurred in the writing of this story. Marvel Comics reserves the right to sue me and in doing so incur my credit card bills for any misrepresentation of their characters, even though the author is earning DIDDLY-SQUAT writing this. Couldn't remember if I put that at the beginning.

"I cannot let you do this Charles!" Lilandra shouted, stepping forward, only to be blocked by none other than Hepzibah.

The cat-like lady smiled ferally, teeth gleaming in the light. One furred hand rested dangerously comfortably on the hilt of the sword at her side. "Like to see, I would, you try to stop us." Flipping her long white ponytail back behind her the feral look traveled to her yellow slitted eyes. "Forget not, Empress, without bodyguard you are now. You have not men can hold the Earthlings here."

Lilandra stood motionless as Hepzibah ran her tongue across her pointed teeth menacingly. In front of her Scott Summers, Cyclops, turned towards the leader of the Starjammers. "Us?" He simply asked.

"Of course," Corsair smiled, motioning simultaneously to Hepzibah to back down while Raza left the room. "Last time I checked you X-Men didn't own a Starcruiser. But I just so happen to have one you can borrow...for a price of course." Before anyone could leave Corsair turned back to Lilandra, who stood silently fuming in the center of the room. "Lil, the food was great. We'll talk about payment for services rendered later." 

With a wink Corsair was gone, leading the X-Men out of the room and towards his Starjammer. In shock, Lilandra sank down into a chair in the corner of her suite, noticing belatedly the plush softness that met her. _A gift from Charles_, she thought wistfully.

* * * * *

D'tar found himself, of all places, standing outside the door of the skrull's personal chambers. He didn't know how he'd gotten there, or what he was planning to do. Eavesdrop? That could dangerously be ineffective. Confrontation? That could force him to give everything away without getting anything in return. So D'tar settled on simply watching and waiting. He knew Tes'ral was not in his chambers, every three hours the skrull was required to check in with the Council and let them know of any new developments in the situation. That in and of itself was suspicious as far as D'tar was concerned, but he figured that in a situation such as this perhaps it was not entirely suspect. If only there were a way for D'tar to overhear some of those Council conversations. That of course was impossible, so D'tar settled on waiting in the alcove down the hall from Tes'ral's apartments in the feeble hope that he would catch the skrull doing something slightly more suspicious than indulging in a late afternoon snack.

* * * * *

Jahf stopped suddenly and let out a cry of shock. Before Sam could react the creature reached up into what appeared to be nothingness and pulled out...a body. It was definitely a human body, ripped from the fabrics of reality that Jahf had explained were invisibly woven into this chamber's very existence. Sam gasped as he realized that this burnt wreck of a human being was still alive, writhing in agony before his very eyes. Then shock turned to horror as flesh burned away into nothingness slowly started to regenerate before his very eyes. Skin healed at a magnificent rate, then hair pushed its way through healed pores until a mostly healed face turned towards Cannonball, eyes wild with pain. "Wolverine." Sam whispered, not knowing quite how he could do much more for the Canadian than what the healing factor was already taking care of.

Then with stunning suddenness Logan was on top of Sam. "Where are the rest of them? Did you get them out?"

"No, I couldn't find them." Sam stated, referring to the Imperial Guard without knowing that Logan was talking about an entirely different "them". Claws extended from Logan's hands, and he paused to look down at them, bone reflecting dully where minutes ago adamantium had been.

"It wasn't real, Logan." Jahf interrupted Wolverine's thought processes before they could fully comprehend what was going on.

Within an instant he had Jahf by the throat. "What d'ya mean 'it wasn't real,' bub?" He growled at the little man he held suspended in mid air. "An' ya better spit it out real quick."

* * * * *

It had been so long since D'Tar had laughed that he had almost forgotten how it felt. For the first time in twenty years his face broke into a smile...he had the skrull. For the second time that day he pulled up the communication history log from Tes'ral's private chambers. Listed on the screen were four incoming holographic interactive exchanges sent from a single interstellar cruiser. The messenger had been subtle, unless you knew what to look for each message would have appeared to have been placed from the Shi'ar homeworld...except for the data sequencing. The opening code to the hologram started with the character 7, used by the Visi-tech Corporation, but the hologram communications from the Shi'ar homeworld were broadcast by Virtual Imagery, inc. Their code always started with a 4. Whoever was communicating with the skrull could not, therefore, be from the Shi'ar homeworld, but was trying their damndest to hide that fact. The code was, of course, corrupt by the time D'Tar managed to locate it, probably beyond repair. He ran the reconstruction program anyway, hoping against all odds that the code strand was retrievable and the log retrievable, or at least traceable. The program would take hours to run, so D'Tar left it to its own machinations and left to locate the Empress.

* * * * *

"Talk!" Logan stated gruffly, dropping Jahf none too carefully on the 'ground'. "Fast!" He added.

Jahf dusted himself off and glared at Logan before beginning. "Well its not that it wasn't real, exactly. I guess I shouldn't have said that. But it wasn't reality."

*Snkt* Claws appeared from Logan's hands as he stood now perfectly healed and seething. "Stop talkin' in circles, bub, or I'll carve the answers outta ya."

"Fine!" Jahf stated, angered by the threats from the man whose life he just saved. "You are inside the M'Kraan Crystal. It transported you to another possible reality! I brought you back here before you DIED! HAPPY!!!" The small alien screeched.

Wolverine just grunted, sheething his claws. "So where's Rogue?" he asked both Jahf and Sam.

"Don't know." Jahf answered, turning back to examining the writhing, shimmering strands of nothingness that filled the room.

"Hang on just one dang second, Wolverine." Canonball said, grabbing the shorter man by the shoulder. "You ain't even phased by any o' this, are ya?"

Logan laughed and pushed Sam's goggles down over his eyes. "Kid, look around ya. I learned long ago that there are some things you just don't question." Through the goggles Sam stared at the swirling, writhing ribbon of unnamable colors he was standing on. "This is one of 'em." Sam nodded, once again mesmerized by the absolute enormity of the chamber. For the first time Sam wondered exactly how he'd gotten inside and more importantly how they were going to get out again.

* * * * *

Rogue waited for him to get angry, upset,...something. She expected a charged pillow through the wall. She did not expect the sympathy and concern she saw in his eyes as he caressed her face. "I was 'fraid dis'd happen." Rogue just looked at him confused.

"What?" she asked, almost angry at him for not listening. "Don't tell me you know what's goin' on, Cajun."

Remy smiled and sat down beside her, holding her hands in both of his. Rogue couldn't help but notice that he still hadn't put on a shirt. "Y'absorbed somebody in dat FOH fight yesterday, chere. Y' member dat?" Rogue shook her head confused. Remy smiled and began running his thumbs up and down her hands. It was very distracting. "Ever since y' gained control, chere, absorbin' peoples' energy has made y' suffer de occasional bout o' amnesia." 

Suddenly Rogue felt the need to wipe that sympathetic look off his face with a left hook. "So yer sayin' Ah've done this before, just completely forgotten who Ah am, where Ah am, etcetera, etcetera."

"Not everyt'in', mon amant, usually jus' de past few months." Remy said soothingly, his left hand moving smoothly from her hands to her back, rubbing in soft circles.

"Okay..." Rogue trailed off for a second, getting lost in the comfort he was providing. "So why don't Ah remember us bein' engaged?"

If she hadn't known any better she would've sworn Remy was blushing. "Oh...yah...um...dat." Rogue just glared at him, somehow knowing she wouldn't like the answer. "Wellllll...see de t'ing is, chere...."

"Spit it out, swamp rat." Rogue demanded, turning to face him. The comfortable back rub had long since ceased.

"It jus' all happened so fast, chere. We were happy, life was great, yougotpregnant, and we got married." Remy smiled, pleased with himself.

"Ah missed somethin' in the middle there, Cajun." Rogue stated, referring to the muffled mumble of something that he had inserted somewhere in the middle.

Remy sighed melodramatically and grabbed her hands again, looking deep in her eyes. "I said: you got pregnant, and we got married."

Down the hall Hank was enjoying his first late morning in his bed in the past six months when: "AH'M WHAT!!!!" woke him out of a sound sleep. "Stars and garters, this cannot be good." Hank mumbled before rolling over and promptly falling back asleep.

* * * * *

"Interesting, wouldn't you say, Tes'ral?" The hologram asked grinning evilly.

"Certainly, master, but how does this affect our purpose? Aren't we trying to locate a reality where there is no Phoenix." Tes'ral asked, confused.

"Of course we are, skrull." The holographic image snickered at him. "But just because there is no Phoenix does not mean that there is not a Jean Grey."


	7. Reality Withdrawal

Professor Charles Xavier, a man with financial resources of unknown depth, a man gifted with the most powerful mind on the planet earth, was now a man sitting outside a star cruiser waiting patiently while the rest of his team entered. Charles planned to ambush Corsair before he could enter the Starjammer. As the captain, Corsair was the last man to pass through the bay doors, or at least he should have been, had Xavier not grabbed him by the collar on his way. "I've been meaning to talk with you, Captain." Xavier stated, leading the man a distance away from the ship resting in the Shi'ar cruiser's docking bay. "I am grateful, of course, for you offering your assistance in this mission. However, I also understand that the last time your ship ventured this close to the M'Kraan Crystal it was almost unable to withstand the radiation." His thin eyebrows arched slightly, turning the statement into a subtle question.

Corsair looked over at the ship and shrugged. "I may be a do gooder now, Charles, but losing an occupation doesn't mean losing your wits too. Ch'od and Raza just finished installing the latest in Shi'ar shielding technology. Our Starjammer will be as safe a ride as this oversized bird cage we're in right now." Corsair noted Charles' attention lay entirely on the ship as he leaned in close to whisper "courtesy of the Majestrix herself."

The pirate laughed and slapped Charles on the shoulder while he sat momentarily stunned. "I was given to understand the Empress would not be helping us in this particular endeavor." He finally managed to mutter, turning yet another questioning eyebrow in Corsair's direction.

Corsair stood, burly arms crossed over his chest. "What can I say? Once a pirate always a pirate." His eyes twinkled mischievously, then he turned and began his walk back to the ship. "If it offends your delicate sensibilities Charles, just think of it as payment for services rendered." He shouted back over his shoulder.

Charles shook his head, and willed his hoverchair to follow after the captain. "You will never change, Corsair."

The man bit off a harsh laugh before he turned and punched in the commands to close the ships door. "Neither will you, Xavier, neither will you."

* * * * *

"He should have been here by now." Ailon muttered while tapping her elbow repeatedly against the back of her chair...a nervous habit inherited from her avion ancestors.

"Calm, councillor, always he has been one to arrive fashionably late to such meetings." A'nok replied, calmly sipping from his mug of krevsl.

"Indeed." A new figure stated from the suddenly open doorway. Moving into the room, his floor length cloak gleamed dully in the interior lights. He was outfitted in black body armor, an unfamiliar insignia gracing his chest plate alongside a medallion made of the Earth metal, copper. His downy hair hung longer than was traditional in Shi'ar society, falling just below his broad shoulders. He took a seat, gracefully, opposite the two councillors, allowing the light to play along one tattered scar running fully from ear to chin. "Greetings, Councillor Ailon..." he acknowledged, his opaque eyes invisibly shifting from her to her partner in crime, "A'nok". His mouth twisted up into a wry grin as his eyes rested on the second councillor. "You need not have feared, Ailon. I do not enjoy risking my life arranging meetings that I do not plan arriving at."

"And I," Ailon replied, letting her frustration drip off of every word, "do not enjoy risking my reputation by meeting with traitors of your reknown."

"And I do not enjoy testing my patience waiting for an end to this battle words." A'nok said slowly but firmly, causing Ailon to snap her mouth shut and the stranger to grin like the cat that ate the canary. "You must forgive her impatience Mird'lan, time moves slowly for the young."

"It seems to me, A'nok, that the young are also all too willing to forget past alliances in favor of more current situations." Staring at the young councillor, Mird'lan silently shifted forward, resting his weight on his ankles and knees. Stalking her like a predator.

Ailon would not be intimidated. "It seems to me, traitor, that age has addled your brains even further. Otherwise you would not dare attempt to threaten me on a Shi'ar imperial cruiser."

Mird'lan's stare remained steady, his grin widening like a Cheshire cat until it slowly broke and from deep in his throat a laugh escaped. "The young one has spunk, A'nok. She just might survive." A sudden look of shock passed over Ailon's features before they settled back into an impassive mask. "Now on to business?"

"Certainly." A'nok's normally passive voice built up some heat which smoldered behind his words and his blank stare. "But I do warn you, Mird'lan, you may be my brother, but betray me or the Shi'ar empire again and you will not live to see the outcome of your lies. The Empress does not forgive easily, and neither do I."

Their gazes locked for a brief instant, and that spark of fire seemed to jump to Mird'lan. "Brother, you know as well as I that I acted for survival, and if the Empress were willing to see past the blatantly obvious she would as well." Quiet now, calm slowly enveloped Mird'lan as he shifted his weight back into the comfort of his chair. "And I would not worry about killing me if I betray you, A'nok. For if I am wrong, none of us will survive to point the blame."

* * * * *

D'tar shuffled nervously down the hallway, peering over his shoulder occasionally to make sure that a certain green councilor was nowhere in sight. Finally, after what seemed like hours of treking the hallways, the Empress' suite loomed ahead, complete with two armed guards. "I am here to see the Empress." D'tar stated simply.

The guards exchanged quick glances, before turning back toward him. "The Empress does not wish to be disturbed." The guard on the left said, stepping menacingly toward the center of the doorway to the suite, ensuring that the light flashed evenly off the energy rifle he proudly carried.

"I am a councilor," D'tar attempted. "I bring urgent news that the Empress must hear immediately! The fate of the empire may very well rest on the information I carry." D'tar attempted to make himself appear taller and more important, while at the same time regretting that he did not take the time to make himself more presentable. Small tufts of down stuck out from his head in complete disarray. His council robe was rumpled, the sleeves rolled up and out of the way, and he had somehow managed to spill black ycijo juice across the imperial insignia. Even he had to admit, he did not look the part of a councilor. However, now was not the time to back down. His statement at least had the two guards looking warily between themselves. Neither wanted to be held responsible for the downfall of the empire. "Here, check my info disc!" D'tar exclaimed, holding out the identity plate that every member of the royal staff carried. Sticking it into the scanner alongside the suite doors, a holographic projection of D'tar, as well as some vital statistics appeared. The specific statistics displayed were different every time, so that an imposter would have almost no chance of knowing what information the disc's reader would be presented with.

After examining the display for a few moments, the guards had a tense conversation. Finally one of the guards turned to D'tar. "Wait here." He commanded, while the other guard slipped through the doors to the suite. After minutes that seemed like hours the guard returned, holding the door open just enough for one person to enter. "The Empress will see you, councilor D'tar. We apologize for any inconvenience."

D'tar nodded politely before he stepped through the door. "Of course, no inconvenience. One can't be too careful with everything that has been going on in the past few days." With that the guards nodded and closed the door behind him.

"You do not even realize the half of it, councilor." Lilandra responded to his statement in English from her seat across the room. Even from this distance D'tar could tell she had been crying. "This had better be worth my time, D'tar. You had better have something solid for me to hold against the skrull."

* * * * *

One thought ran through Scott's mind as he turned to look at his assembled team..._Rescue missions are never easy_. A reassuring mental caress reached out to him through his link with his wife, and he gave her a gracious smile before he focused back on the people before him. The question was a simple one of sorts, but so difficult to answer: who should he send on this rescue, there were just too many factors to consider.

The first face to meet his was Warren's. Archangel: quick thinker, fast mover, wings a disadvantage in the type of zero g environment we're working with. Next, Iceman: impulsive, quick to adapt, ice power too much of a risk in this type of radiation. Cecilia: shell power can protect her from radiation, medically trained, absolutely NO combat experience. Storm: no way of predicting how her powers will react to alien environment, level headed, strong leader. And on the list went, in seconds Cyclops had listed at least three attributes of each team member, hoping that either the good or the bad would win out. In under a minute Scott knew exactly who would be heading down to the Shi'ar moon. "Listen up people, we're about six minutes away from the point that Hank's estimated to be our safe drop off. I'm sending six of us down, the rest will wait here. Storm, you're taking Psylocke and Colossus. Nightcrawler, you're heading up the other team with Shadowcat and Phoenix. Understood?" Nods came around the room from all except one pair of burning red eyes.

"Y'forgot t'mention which team I'm goin' wit, Cyke." Cyclops turned to face the owner of that distinctive voice.

"You are staying here Gambit. This mission is too personal for you to be a part of. I cannot trust you to listen to orders in the best of times, I certainly can't now." Besides a muttered "fils de putain" the Cajun, thankfully, did not argue any further. "Now, as I was about to say, Jean and Psylocke will run relays between the teams and us. The plan, Kitty, is for you to keep everyone intangible long enough to reach the surface. Hank thinks that this area of disappearance is a halo, that once you pass through it you should be fine. Once you find Wolverine, Rogue, and Cannonball, Shadowcat will ferry them back to the shuttle and we are outta here. Kitty make sure that you grab an extra pack of fuel just in case."

"Time to go, kiddies." Corsair shouted over his shoulder as Raza brought the Starjammer to a standstill above the purple nova that was the M'Kraan moon.

"Then I would say this is it." Storm said, adjusting her helmet one final time. "I hope to see you soon my friends."

"Bring 'er back safe, Stormy."

"My friend, do not call me that." She said, anger creasing her brow momentarily before it softened, and she strode across the bay of the ship toward Gambit. "I will do my best." One hand stroked his cheek before she turned and disappeared through the airlock.

* * * * *

It seemed like hours, or maybe days. Sam could no longer tell the difference even between seconds and years. The only thing that kept up a constant flow was conversation, words fit logically into a pattern that he could follow. After all, you couldn't answer a question until it had been asked, and you couldn't elaborate on something until you'd said it. Or at least he thought that was true, it could be false and he'd just been fooling himself for the past few realities. He shook his head, trying to get a grasp on himself for the umpteenth time that he could remember. Up and down were colliding with sideways in his head. And this unpleasant color that Sam had deemed blurpow, because it looked like blue, purple, and yellow mixed together sort of, kept spinning and following him around, though he'd told it a hundred times he wasn't interested in buying a lawn mower. No, that wasn't right. If only he had a tail things would make much more noise.

* * * * *

"Jahf!" Wolverine shouted, after Sam fell down for about the fourth time. "Get over here, now!" The little blue alien scuttled over to the pair more slowly than Logan appreciated. "What's up with the kid, his pupils are dilated, he ain't focusin'." Just then Sam decided to drool all over Jahf's feet. "He won't stop droolin'."

"Do tell." Jahf answered, shaking his left foot disgustedly over the edge of the ribbon they were currently on. "I'm surprised this has taken so long to set in, your friend here is suffering from reality withdrawal."

"'Scuse me?" Wolverine sneered back.

"The human psyche is not strong enough to withstand being outside of reality for long periods of time, it starts to break down."

"Then what?"

Jahf sighed. "He'll either go stark raving mad, if he isn't already, and try to kill himself or his mind will seek a way to escape the strain, leading him, inadvertently, to any of a number of realities, instantly causing him to regain his sanity. However, I doubt we'll find him for quite a while.

Logan stood motionless for a minute while he processed Jahf's diagnosis. "How long we got till one of those things happens?"

Jahf took one last look at Sam. "In my estimation, three Earth hours, maybe four if we're lucky."

"And till it happens to me?" Logan continued.

"Perhaps six hours, which means your friends had better hurry, and so had I." With that Jahf turned wordlessly back to picking and plucking invisible strands in the air, searching for the one that was misbehaving.

* * * * *

"Chere, y'need to calm down, y'hyperventilatin', s'not good f'r de petite."

"Ah'll hyperventilate you, you dirty swamp rat." Rogue shouted, as she hurled yet another pillow at the helpless Cajun from where she hovered in the center of the room.

"Y'know, Hank said y'shouldn' be flyin' too much."

"Hank can kiss mah Mississippi ass!" She threw another pillow, this one shattering a window.

"Sooner or later we run out of pillows chere, why don' y'jus' calm down!" Remy shouted, agitated beyond the point where he could ignore it and keep playing nice.

"Cuz...cuz...cuz Ah'm gonna puke." Rogue groaned, barely making it to the toilet before she started heaving up things she remembered eating three months ago. "This is all your fault, yah know." She yelled between deep breaths as she sat back on her heels in front of the toilet.

"Nah-uh, I ain' takin' all de blame fer dis one. Way I 'member it, y'were enjoyin' every second, least dat's what I inferred from de way y'were screamin' my name." Remy remarked snidely, as he made his way around the room, cleaning up everything that had gone flying during Rogue's display.

"Well Ah'm glad one of us remembers it, cuz Ah sure as hell don't. All Ah remember is wakin' up to find out that Ah'm married and pregnant. Sorry if Ah'm a little bit upset, but last thing Ah remember was you tellin' me to fuck off cuz Ah didn' want y' goin' to New Orleans for tha weekend."

"Rogue what de hell are you talkin' bout?" Gambit shouted from the bedroom. "I haven' been ta N'Awlins in almost a year."

"Wonderful, now Ah'm even loonier than we thought!" Tears started to leak out her eyes, and drip into the toilet bowl below. An arm slowly wrapped itself around her, but she shook it off violently. "Don't Touch Me!" Turning she glared into the crimson eyes that met hers. "Don't you dare touch me! Ah don't even know you, Ah don't even remember evah touching you! Evah!"

The sound of a throat being cleared in the doorway caught the attention of them both. "Bad time?" Jean asked pleasantly, cocking her head to the side. "Rogue, honey, you look awful."

"Gee, thanks." Rogue replied, smiling sarcastically from her position cross-legged on the bathroom floor.

"Well if you don't mind, I need to steal him for our Danger Room session." Something in Jean's smile struck Rogue as being far more than innocent, and as much as she hated Gambit right then, he still belonged to her.

"Actually sugah, Ah was thinkin' about joinin' y'all. Wouldn' that be fun?" Rogue's smile turned sickeningly sweet.

"Cherie, you know y'not allowed in de Danger Room. Y'can hardly go ten minutes wit'out stickin' y'head in de toilet." Remy remarked, gathering his battle gear out of the closet.

"Ah was just gonna watch, sugah." She said, getting up and running one hand through Remy's silky hair. "Ah am still allowed ta do that, right?"

"'Course y'can watch, chere." Gambit said quickly, though which head was doing the answering Rogue wasn't entirely sure. "Dat ain't a problem, right Jean?"

"Not at all," Jean answered, glaring at Rogue as soon as Gambit turned his back. A glare which Rogue had no problem returning until Remy turned back toward them, and never before had Rogue been happier to see him wearing a shirt. "Let's go."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

A/N: Well, I'm back again. Sorry, this took me awhile to put together.

Now I'm going to take a tactic from Neurotic Temptress and thank you guys who are reviewing. You take the time to review, so I should take the time to respond too, its only polite.

T.: How's this for more?

LadyLyte: Thank you, I've never been called exceptional before. But I wouldn't say exceptional...how about magnificent or beyond compare...oooh how about fantabulous?

Auroraraye: Thanks, I think I will keep it up. And I'm glad somebody FINALLY appreciates my sense of humor. At least now I know that somebody gets it. But I am very flattered.

Randirogue: Sorry bout that, didn't mean to shock you. I try to update when I can. oh, btw....voted for ya, let me know how it goes.


	8. Helpless

Tes'ral didn't know whether to squeal in glee or terror. Two imperial guards now stood in his doorway, the crests of the house of Neramani glinted cruelly off the breastplates of their uniforms, winking in the light of his private chambers. The news they brought was the source of his current dilemma. How was he to know that out of all his possible enemies, that bumbling idiot D'Tar would be the one to trace his transgressions.

Silence permeated every particle of air in the room, so heavy that Tes'ral wondered if a squeal could even be heard over it. He noticed that the guards boots made no noise as they moved towards him. His master, of course, would be pleased to hear that the X-Men had left for the Crystal. The plan was in its final stages, and soon all would be complete. But, Tes'ral would not receive his promised reward now that he had been caught.

The guards took aim, slowly lowering weapons at his chest. His burden now felt like a lead weight, but Tes'ral was well aware of the punishment he would receive if he confessed. Quickly and fluidly, like only a skrull could manage, he dragged his sleeve across his mouth, wiping away the strands of drool that hung from his chin. Almost instantly his body hit the floor, the pills had taken effect faster than he had expected. Either way it was Tes'ral who got the last laugh, he died with a sneer on his face and the knowledge that now nobody could end what had begun.

* * * * *

"Everybody take a deep breath, I don't know how long this will take!" Kitty shouted through the comm unit that linked her together with both teams. She felt Storm's grip tighten on one side, and Jean's on the other. Slowly Kitty then began the process of phasing with the nothingness of space, and passing that along the line. It was draining, and Kitty dreaded when they would reach that halo and she would have to adjust the particles more to align them with whatever energy it was that was reaching out for them. Once the atom's in her body reached the correct frequency she felt their response, it was almost like a *click*, pressure that normal people don't even realize objects exert on their bodies disappeared. In a way it was freeing. She waited until she felt that pressure dissipate from everybody before she gave the order to start forward.

Phased as they were with the emptiness of space, the radiation halo from the M'Kraan moon was a very physical experience on the first encounter. Sweat stung in her eyes while Shadowcat felt the environment around her, allowing her body to become just slightly more solid before reverting into the high-energy pattern that the radiation was following. In the back of her mind Kitty wondered if during this exercise she too became radioactive, or if it was simply mimicking the action of the molecules. She'd have to run that by Xavier so they could test it later. Once again the apparent pressure felt along the line of her teammates dissolved and Kitty pressed forward, her helmet visor doing its job and protecting her eyes from the violent purple flashes all around her. The strain was becoming awful, it seemed like she would never reach the moon before her teammates ran out of oxygen. For the last time Kitty hit a patch of interference, and looking closely she realized her prayers had been answered. At last they had reached solid ground.

* * * * *

Ailon and A'nok sat in stunned silence staring into the eyes of Mird'lan for what could have been hours, had Mird'lan not unceremoniously slapped them both. "Impossible!" Ailon remarked, rising from her seat to begin a jerked pacing across the chamber floor. "No! How! Can't be!" She remarked at odd intervals with her steps, her head bobbing each time.

"My dear, you are chirping." Mird'lan remarked, a smirk gracing his lips, twisting his scar into an evil parody of a smile. "The simple fact is it's true. I have witnessed the broadcasts myself."

A'nok remained impassively silent for a brief instant more, processing everything he had heard before slowly opening his mouth to pass judgement. "You are a true traitor, brother. First us, now your new master, you betray everybody you seem to help. Why should we trust you now?"

The smirk transformed into a smile, and for the first time a spark of life entered Mird'lan's dull eyes. "Good question, brother. Do you remember when we were children? Jonjel Vratonal had been tearing pages out of the school books, and our teacher said none of us would get play time until the guilty party was caught?"

A'nok nodded slowly. "I don't believe he every forgave you for turning him in," he remarked, grinning slightly at the memory of the look on Jonjel the bully's face.

"No, and I had the bruises to show for it, but I did get play time." Mird'lan stood swiftly and made his way to the door. "Now if you'll excuse me I must get back to my master before he notices I have gone." With that Mird'lan disappeared out the doorway.

"What was that all about?" Ailon asked, irritation coloring her question. "He never did answer your question."

A'nok looked at her, mulling Mird'lan's words over in his head until they clicked into place. "Self-preservation, councilor. That is why we can trust what he says is true, Mird'lan's only interest in life has always been self-preservation."

"Then may the gods help us, A'nok. What are we going to do?"

"First things first, child." A'nok muttered, pulling himself to his feet. "We must inform the Majestrix, then may heaven help us I do not know what we _can_ do. If he is this powerful already, I doubt anyone can stop him."

* * * * *

Frustration settled into every one of Lilandra's pores, filling her until she thought she would tear the head off of somebody or burst. Never before had she felt so...useless. Her empire was being threatened by a force she could not control, she didn't even want to think about trying to control the Crystal. Every lead, okay her only lead, had brought her to a dead end—literally. She had the body to prove it. But the look of pure hatred in the skrull's eyes gave her more questions and no answers. If one of her own councilors had been working for...whomever it was he was working for, how could she trust anyone? Was the whole council in league with this threat, or were they still too busy squabbling amongst themselves to pay attention to anything truly important. Would her guard turn on her and kill her in her sleep? There were too many scenarios to even ponder.

More than anything, the Empress of the Shi'ar Empire knew the meaning behind the word helpless. Charles had once tried to describe to her, in his darker days when his powers had abandoned him, what it felt like to not be able to do anything. How he had just wanted to lay down, to give up because whatever force was out there was too big and threatening to even bother putting up a fight. For once Lilandra understood that Earth expression that she had once laughed at, 'throwing in the towel'.

It was right when her self-indulgent sulk was getting past the point of pathetic and into the realm of hopeless itself that one of her guards approached and cleared his throat. "Councilors Ailon and A'nok wish an audience, your majesty. They say they bear information of the most urgent nature."

Lilandra sighed. "Tell them to leave the message with you, and that I will look it over at my convenience." The guard nodded and left as silently as a gentle breeze. She returned to her thoughts of desolation and hopelessness when sounds of commotion carried into her chamber from the hallway outside. Clips of words and phrases reached her ears. "Empress...I will...no must...cannot...let go!...Stop!...too important...need to." Now, no matter what her concentration was broken. Getting up, Lilandra dragged herself over the main doorway and pulled heavily to open the door. "What is going on out here?" She asked, seeing Ailon being held by one guard, while A'nok looked uncomfortably pinned to the floor.

"Empress...we know who is...causing the...problems...with the...Crystal." A'nok huffed out of a mouth pressed roughly into the hall's carpeting.

The English assaulted her ears, she had not expected to hear that language used again so soon in her presence. Nor had she expected those words to come from A'nok's mouth. Without sign of her earlier sluggishness, Lilandra rushed to her knees, grabbing A'nok's jaw roughly. "Who?"

* * * * *

"Anybody ever tell you, you pace like your mother?" Corsair commented over his shoulder to Cyclops, who was in the process of doing exactly what Corsair accused him of.

Scott opened his mouth, ready to shout something back at his father when Xavier moved between the two men. "Jean told me that she did not know how often she would contact us," Xavier stated. "We know that they have landed safely Cyclops, let's just be thankful for small things right now. Worrying will accomplish nothing."

His shoulders slumped in a sign of either defeat or concurrence. "I know, Professor." Scott sighed, running his right hand roughly through his hair, a habit he had developed back when his hair was much longer and more unruly than it was now. "Do you know how hard it is? Sending somebody you love out into danger because no matter what you know they're the right one for the job, that the job can't be done without them there?"

Charles cocked his head slightly to the side, a smile creeping across his face. "Of course, Scott. How do you think I felt every time I sent you original five out to face Magneto, or the Blob, or whoever the threat happened to be at the time? How do you think I still feel when you set out to face danger?"

Cyclops shrugged, letting the Professor's words sink in. "How do you deal with it, sir? After all these years, is it any easier?"

In a comforting gesture the Professor reached out and placed his hands on Scott's shoulders. "No." He let Scott go, turning away so his back faced Cyclop's gaze. "But I trust that I have given you all the training and support that you need in order to return home safely. I rely on my faith in the idea that none of you makes the sacrifices you make in vain. Someday Scott, the world will be a better place, and I have no doubt that it will be partly because of everything all of you have done. That is what allows me to sleep at night, and wake in the morning."

* * * * *

For almost an hour now Iceman and Gambit had sat staring out the window of the Starjammer in mutual wretched silence. It was one of the few experiences the two could share in without feeling the need to compete, the experience of being completely helpless. Words were useless at this point; words were what started fights. There was no room on the Starjammer for a fight, and besides their hearts wouldn't have been in it. They were happy in their mutual ignorance of the other's true thoughts and emotions, happy merely to join together in their time of misery and bond in that weird uncaring way that only they knew how to find comfort in.

It was almost eerie how they unconsciously mimicked each other. Arms crossed heavily high on their chests, heads both leaning to the left, right leg crossed over the left, left foot tapping out the same rhythm. The only difference evident was in their postures. Iceman looked intimidating, heavy, as if any moment he might get up and stomp away. Gambit, on the other hand, exuded graceful tension, a coiled spring ready to jump at the first person to interrupt him in his sulking.

Surprisingly it was Gambit that was the first to let go, shrugging out of his earlier position he reached into the recess of one of his innumerous pockets pulling out a fresh deck of cards. Wordlessly he began shuffling, catching Iceman's still silent attention. Without a word, Gambit began to deal the cards. The two picked up their cards, and began their mute game without any acknowledgement as to what the game might be.

* * * * *

The three teammates entered the control room together. Rogue remained silent, listening to Jean and Remy make idle chatter on the way. How was Jean's vacation? Was Remy looking forward to moving into the boathouse? Jean would have to come help decorate. If she wasn't already nauseous then their small talk would have made her want to puke. Rogue swore if Jean broke into that sing-songy laugh one more time she'd throttle her. "It's actually really great that you're here Rogue." Jean said to her, a bit too sweetly. "You can help monitor our workout." Either she was going crazy, or Jean had emphasized that 'our' a bit more than was necessary.

Of course, two could play that game. "Sure thing, darlin'. Just take it easy on mah _husband_, wouldn't want him fallin' asleep tonight before ah'm done with him." She smiled coyly, letting the satisfaction warm her as Jean turned a bit red at the word 'husband' and Remy a bit white over her last statement. It was obvious he knew her a lot better than Jean, he knew when she was threatening and when she was just playing. That had been a warning for Jean, but Remy had no doubts about what tonight might hold for him. He knew not to expect a warm bed.

Jean's eyes sparked slightly as she turned back to Rogue on her way into the Danger Room. "Don't worry, honey, I'm sure there's plenty of energy in him for both of us." With that the door sealed shut, leaving Rogue to seethe through the observation window. She watched as Jean ostentatiously hugged Gambit good luck before the program started. Though Rogue did have to give her credit, once the program began, Jean was all business, as was Remy of course. It wasn't exactly the easiest program they'd ever run, though Rogue had seen Gambit out run much more difficult programs. The object was to reach the shut off switch. However, not only did the Danger Room act to prevent them from reaching it, the switch itself moved randomly throughout the room. A few times one or the other had been about to push it when it disappeared from right underneath their hand. To Rogue's satisfaction, it was Gambit that finally ended the work out by successfully flipping the shut down switch.

After a few cool down laps, both returned to the control room. "How'd I do, chere?" Remy laughed, coming towards her for a congratulatory hug.

He reeked of sweat. Normally that smell that Remy naturally exuded was enough to make her want to melt whenever they exercised together. This time, the smell just made her feel even more sick. "Don't come a step closer, Cajun. You smell awful!" Seemingly accustomed to her new reaction via morning sickness, Remy obligingly backed off. "Ya did good, sugah." She smiled at him, finally able to answer once the offending odor had retreated. He gave her one of his patented lop sided grins, and blew her a kiss in reply. "Oh, you too Jean." Rogue said off handedly, purposely continuing to stare at Gambit, and ignore the red head next to him.

"Thanks, Rogue." Jean said dryly. "Well, I'm headed off to the showers. I'll see you later, Rem."

Rogue waited until the door shut to explode. "Rem! REM! What on Gawd's green earth is going on, swamp rat!" Gambit got about a syllable out before she interrupted him. "Don't you go givin' me excuses, either Cajun. Ah've been watchin' that hussy make googly eyes at you since she walked through our door. What, Scott isn't good enough for her anymore?!"

Up until that last sentence, Rogue had seen the anger build up in Gambit's eyes. It wasn't until she mentioned Scott that she saw the disbelief. "Y'really don' remember, do you?" He asked, latching onto her upper arms, holding her at arms' length so he could look into her face. Rogue didn't know what to say, how could she know she had forgotten something, since she obviously didn't remember it. She just shook her head no. "Rogue," Remy continued, then stopped as if deciding what to say. "Chere, Scott died three months ago." Gambit took her look of shock as wanting to know details, so he kept going. "We were fightin' Apocalypse, an' he knocked you an' Scott for quite de loop. Y'absorption was off, so y'took the full hit and got knocked unconscious. Was almos' in a panic tryin' t'find you. I t'ought you'd never wake up." Tears appeared in Gambit's eyes, and Rogue found herself compressing her reaction to his smell in order to hold him close. "Cyke," he continued, rocking her slowly. "He hit de foundations of an old parking garage, knocked de whole damn t'ing down on 'imself. By de time we got t'him it was too late..." He trailed off, letting Rogue fill in the last of the story.

"So why does Jean have eyes for you now?" Rogue asked, after the initial shock wore off. "This just isn't adding up in my head, Remy."

"She's hurtin', mon amour. Jean t'inks dat if you hadn't been controllin' y'powers den somehow y'would've managed t'dig Cyke out faster. She's tryin' t'make you hurt like she is, chere. De femme doesn't really want anyt'ing t'do wit me, unless y'r aroun'."

Rogue's head seemed to be spinning in circles. "Is she right, Remy?"

She felt him shudder against her. "Non, chere. Not unless y'could've magically reattached 'is head."

Rogue nodded into his chest. "Was that before or aftah?" she asked timidly, placing his left hand gently on her slightly rounded stomach.

For the first time since Jean had left the room Gambit's devilish smile reappeared. "B'fore. Celebratin' after y'woke up, dat's what led t'after."

* * * * *

Sam was slipping in and out of consciousness more frequently now. Logan wondered exactly how long he could hold out before he reached the end of his rope. He could understand how Sam felt, this place had a way of making your brain itch. Nothing followed any sort of logic, and it was increasingly disconcerting the longer Logan went without any sensory input other than what his eyes were telling him. Sam had begun talking to himself too. Clips that made no sense out of context, but Logan was sure there was a reason Sam was muttering these things. "Not today...time to go...wait I forgot...you coward." It was as if Sam was living a different life than the one going on when he was awake, if not aware. Logan was certain it was the first sign that Sam was beginning to escape into another reality, and a shiver up his spine told him that no matter what, the Crystal could not claim Sam. Something told him that would be beyond bad. Logan had learned long ago to trust his instincts.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

I know, what gives. I actually updated two days in a row! And this is a pretty hefty chapter in terms of what I usually post. I'm so proud of me. Don't expect this to happen very often though. I do realize that I'm spending a lot of time dealing with this alternate Gambit and Rogue. No, it's not just because I'm a sucker for R&R, there is an actual reason which some of you more astute readers may already be guessing at. BTW: Who do you think is causing all this trouble with the Crystal? Intriguing...isn't it?

On to the list...

Neurotic Temptress: Next chapter now! Next chapter now! Next...oh...sorry got caught up in that rhythm you had going. Sorry you won't get a cat fight....yet. I mean Rogue can be pretty volatile, I'm just trying to see how much more she can take. But at least this is some sort of an explanation.

Katharra: Plot, where? Oops! How did that get there?! Bad plot, bad! I'm soooo sorry, promise it won't happen again ;) Glad you enjoy it.

LadyLyte: Well there you have it, that Jean is truly an evil person at heart. J/K. I'm a little concerned about your new favorite color though. Here's hoping your not as loony as Sam.

nobody's angel, T.: Thanks.

Jean1: You enjoy watching other people in pain and confusion? Should I be afraid?


	9. Suspense

The funeral, if one can call heaving a body out into the depths of space a funeral, was mercifully short. Two guards hefted the skrull's body into the airlock and sealed it. Few were morbid enough to stay and watch it be sucked out into the vacuum of space, and even less stayed to watch what effect space would have upon the body. D'Tar was one of those who did not have time to fulfill his morbid curiosities. He had a code to unravel.

D'Tar sat in front of his computer staring hopelessly at the readout. What little had been recovered from Tes'ral's computer that was still reconstructable was of no use. "Now...universe...stop...Cryst." The mere existence of the message was a more useful clue than anything it contained. Even the code itself was corrupted to the point that only a few blocks remained in tact. Slowly D'Tar ticked off the clues they had on his fingers – it was a short list. Tes'ral was communicating with somebody other than the council. This person was trying to make the message look as if it had come from the council headquarters. Tes'ral was dead. They had a portion of a message code. D'Tar sat straight up in his chair, eyes widening a fraction as he set his fingers flying over the keyboard in front of him. The code was the key. Subspace communications had to be embedded within other coding strands in order to protect the core message from deterioration within the radiation of space. This 'shell coding' was more complex the farther the broadcaster was from the recipient. If D'Tar could break down the outer coding of the message the equation used to produce it, he could in essence determine how far away from their current position this person was. It was a longshot, but at least with a search radius they had a decent chance of finding something more substantial. After about twenty minutes of typing away D'Tar started to cringe, this was going to be yet another long and sleepless night.

* * * * *

"Off!," was all Lilandra had to say for the guards to back down from Ailon and allow A'nok the chance to rise and straighten himself. "I believe, councillors, we have some important information to discuss?" It was not a question. Staff of office in hand Lilandra used it to all but hook A'nok by the back of his robe and drag him into her chambers, an icy stare ensuring that Ailon followed meekly behind, carefully teasing the doors silently shut behind her. "Out!" she shouted at the few guards remaining in her quarters, who for once didn't bother to argue, but merely let themselves out a side door. "Talk!"

Ailon went to open her mouth, but A'nok raised a finger stalling her. "You must understand, your majesty, that we cannot reveal the identity of our source, for the person's own safety." Lilandra's lips quirked into a slight smile at that.

"I am sure that you sent this person away with my regards for the duty they have performed for the Empire."

"Certainly Majestrix." A'nok too smiled at the version of a cat and mouse game that Lilandra and Mirdlan continued, both aware of the other but voluntarily remaining 'ignorant' for the other's behalf. "Our source tells us that there are a group of brigands who have been hired by this unknown threat. They have been stealing communication equipment, subspace technology, frequency enhancers, and other such machinery."

"Nothing out of the ordinary." The Empress commented off hand, motioning for the two to take seats. "What does this have to do with the Crystal?"

"They are bringing all this machinery to the Hentaan Moon, Majestrix, where it is being turned over to a building crew to construct some form of massive array which broadcasts frequencies in short powerful bursts." Ailon explained.

"Hentaan is, as I'm sure you know, Majestrix, the closest uninhabited moon to the Crystal." A'nok added.

"And I've no doubt that this broadcast array is what is causing the Crystal to become active. So the question remains who is paying these space pirates to cooperate and the engineers to construct this thing." She sat staring at the two, wondering how much information they would be able to give beyond this point.

"It is a very good question indeed, your highness. Unfortunately our informant is merely working as a security officer, and does not know who it is that is supplying his money, the skrull was our informant's contact. Tes'ral is also working for this man, your highness."

A'nok's answer didn't surprise her, but for once she was one step ahead of him. "Indeed councillor, that is why Tes'ral is no longer breathing." The vehemency in her voice made Ailon jump slightly in her seat, A'nok simply nodded. "I am sure, councillors, that this informant had some idea of where the pay was coming from or you would not have been contacted."

Both looked at each other before looking back to the Empress and nodding.

* * * * *

Sam was having a dream – a good dream at that – about home. Not home as in the X-Mansion, which had never felt as comfortable to him as it did to most of the other residents. No home was a field in Kentucky, tall grasses surrounding him as he walked out to the pasture where his father kept some of the horses. Mr. Guthrie raised race horses, a very noble profession in the 'Blue Grass' state, where horse racing was second only to high school football. The sun was warm and golden on his face and shoulders, it was a good heat and in the back of his mind it made Sam wish he could fly. He finally reached the pen where his dad's prize stud was roaming around, grazing here and there. This horse had the choicest grazing grounds in all of Kentucky, two and half acres of the lushest grass that God and irrigation could provide. Something wasn't right though, Jacob was in Jumping Jack Flash's pen. Poppa was gonna be so sore at Jacob if he found out. "Jacob, whatcha doin' in there?" Sam shouted at him from where his chubby arms just reached the second rung of the post.

"Poppa said I could ride 'im soons Ah turned fourteen, so Ah'm gonna ride 'im." Jacob shouted back. Now Sam could see the bit and bridle dangling loosely from Jacob's hand. Sam counted the days in his head carefully, today was June 24th, and he was pretty sure that Jacob's birthday wasn't even until July 2nd. Besides, he was certain that Poppa hadn't meant that Jacob could corner and attempt to wrestle himself onto the stallion without an adult's help.

"Not today ya ain't!" Sam yelled back, climbing over the fence and dropping into the pen himself.

"Ah sure am, an' don'tcha dare go runnin' ta Mamma or Ah'll whip ya mahself." Jacob was pretty close to 'Jack' now, and Sam could see him fingering the bit. Sam felt the wind turn on his way towards Jacob, and saw the horse get the scent of both boys in his nostrils. The unfamiliar smells made the horse rear, and start to run, neighing loud enough that any of the hands in the nearby barn would be certain to hear.

"Come on Jacob, it's time ta go, ya done scared 'im an' now everybody's gonna come runnin' ta see what the fuss is about." Just then the boys heard voices coming from the direction of the barns. Jacob, not looking, tossed the bit and bridle at Sam, who not expecting it let them fall to the ground. With that he started running for the fence as fast as his two legs would get him there. Sam started running after him, before he stopped and turned back. "Jacob wait, I forgot the bit and bridle! Jacob!" But it was too late, the farmhands were there and now all they saw was Sam standing in the middle of the pasture with 'Jack's' tack around him. It didn't look good. "You coward," he muttered in the direction that Jacob had run before trudging back toward the men along the fence, letting the reins drag in the mud for good measure.

* * * * *

It always felt good to have your feet on solid ground, Kurt decided, regardless of what those on his team with the power of flight claimed. Nothing was more disconcerting for Kurt, than to be free floating through space. It was almost as unsettling as the idea of how fast this had turned from a 'seek and destroy' mission into a 'search and rescue'. A 'search and rescue,' he briefly reminded himself, that involved a teammate, a very close friend, and his sister. Not for the first time did he push those thoughts aside along with a very brief prayer that they were all alright. "So zis is ze Crystal zat is causing all of zese problems?"

"Yup." Kitty commented from next to him. For once she was completely speechless, which Kurt figured wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"The good news is it hasn't changed much in all these years." Jean stated, eyeing it closely as someone would eye a valuable that they had just recently recovered. "I don't see any new damage, which is very good."

"Good thing we brought along the expert." Betsy commented dryly, stretching her muscles out of the stiffness that traveling with Kitty could sometimes induce. "So what is it we do now?"

Kurt saw Storm eyeing her team in the same way that he began eyeing his, and it became clear that Cyclops had arranged the teams as he had for a reason. One team was an infiltration team, the other backup. "Storm," Kurt said, grabbing her attention. " I am of the opinion that you and I should switch leadership roles. I understand that Scott would have wanted you in ze Crystal because of your powers, however, I feel zat I would be more an asset on the inside than you."

Storm nodded slowly, taking in the same references that Kurt had made. It was obvious that Cyclops had wanted Storm to lead Colossus and Psylocke into the Crystal, but she had to agree with Kurt. Not only was she useless in tight enclosed spaces, which they might run into inside the Crystal, but her powers were as well. "Done." She said, turning to the assembled teams. "Betsy, Piotr, you and Kurt will enter the Crystal and find our teammates while Kitty, Jean, and I wait here. You three are the best we have in terms of close quarters fighters, and we need a telepath on the inside. Do not take offence, my friend," Storm said, turning to Jean, "but this is about as close as I feel comfortable letting you get to the Crystal."

To her relief, Jean smiled. "None taken, I feel the same way. But before you go into the Crystal I have something for each of you." She opened one of the utility pockets on her Shi'ar style space suit and removed three generic looking utility watches. "These," she said, holding them out for everybody to see, "are frequency trackers, they act like a type of homing device. Walking into the Crystal is not like walking into a building, you will become disoriented. These watches are set to follow the frequency being emitted from a transistor that is strapped on under my suit. The frequency follows a two minute, two minute, one minute recycling pattern. These watches will make sure that you exit out of the Crystal into the right reality."

All three took the watches and strapped them on tightly. "And where did these come from?" Piotr asked skeptically.

"Another 'gift' from Lilandra." Jean stated. "Now a last word of advice before you go. In order to find Logan, Sam, and Rogue you must find one of the Crystal keepers. They are all named Jahf, they will know where to lead you." That being said, there was no more to do, and Betsy, Kurt, and Piotr walked toward the Crystal in the hopes that they would eventually walk out again.

* * * * *

Logan had given up slapping Sam to try and wake him up out of it after multiple attempts had given him no better success and Jahf had reminded him about the definition of stupidity. He was just glad that Sam was still physically there, he hadn't started to fade into one of the rainbowesque strands that floated through the room. To pass the time Logan had decided to simply start asking this little creature questions. "So what is it you do around here anyway?" He asked, lounging carelessly in what appeared to be the middle of nothing. He desperately craved a cigar and a beer to complete the image.

"I keep the lines of reality from tangling. See every thread in here is a reality, a possibility, and sometimes they touch and it causes a blip in both realities. Like have you ever been walking down the street and thought you saw somebody around the corner, then they weren't there. Or have you ever put something down, but when you look for it, it isn't there, even though somebody else finds it in that exact spot a few minutes later. Those aren't random bouts of 'seeing things' or 'losing it' like you humans think. That's what can happen when two threads touch briefly."

"Makes sense. So you keep that from happening."

"I try." Jahf said, letting out a frustrated sigh as whatever he was searching for continued to elude him. "But my main priority is to keep the reality strands untangled. I just explained what happens when they briefly touch, imagine if two became knotted together?"

Logan let out a low whistle. "Could be bad."

"Just think about what hundreds of them getting tangled together could do, could be the end of the universe."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"I would." With that the conversation ended and Jahf returned his entire focus to his work. It was a long time before his laughter caught Logan's attention.

"What?" Logan asked, managing to walk over to where Jahf was closely eyeing a single thread.

"I seem to have found your elusive teammate."

* * * * *

It had been days now, and her memories of the past few months were still gone. Remy was trying his best to cover for her, understanding that she dreaded the Professor going through her mind as much as he did. Whatever was causing the memory problems wasn't having any affect on her physical health, or the baby, so they were content to ignore it. Certainly there were times when it was annoying, and Rogue still was experiencing what Hank had long ago coined as contact anxiety, but life was pretty good, and today Rogue was enjoying something she had never thought to experience. Storm had taken her baby shopping.

"This one is absolutely precious, Rogue." Storm said, holding up a tiny scrap of pink and white that from where Rogue was standing looked more like a washcloth than the dress she was sure that it was.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Ro, Ah told ya, Ah ain't buying clothes till Ah know what Ah'm havin'." She took a closer look at the little pink dress covered in white flowers. "It is cute though, they're all cute." A wistful smile came over her, and Storm smirked.

"Well I am sure that you are going to be having a girl." She said smugly, moving along to pick out matching socks and hats and other accoutrements.

"An' Remy just knows it's gonna be a boy." Rogue laughed.

"Remy does not know what he is talking about." Storm said, putting yet another dress into the shopping cart.

Rogue held her hands up in mock defeat. "Ah'm not gonna argue with ya there sugah. All Ah know for sure is that at least one o' ya is gonna be right."

"Of course, child. Me."

Rogue dubiously eyed the pinks, purples, and yellows that had inundated her shopping cart. "Let's hope so, 'Ro. Cuz Ah'd hate to have ta bring all this stuff back."

* * * * *

"This a private party, or can anyone join?"

Wordlessly Remy reached out with a leg and hooked another chair with his foot dragging it to the table for Corsair. He didn't even look up from his cards. Corsair took the seat and Gambit gathered the cards, dealing out another hand. "So what're we playing?" Neither of the them answered, Bobby just ignored the question and Gambit simply dealt him seven cards. After a few moments Bobby dropped three and Gambit silently dealt him three more. Following suit and guessing Corsair dropped two and Gambit dealt him two. Finally Gambit dropped four, dealt himself four more. Bobby placed his hand face down, not a bad hand three pair. Corsair mimicked him with his three of a kind. Gambit just sat, staring at his cards the color slowly draining from his face. One by one he let the cards fall, nine of spades, ten of spades, jack of spades, queen of spades, king of spades, ace of spades, only one card remained clutched desperately in his hands.

"Non" he whispered as it floated down to the table. It was the Queen of Hearts, but her eyes on either side had been blacked out somehow. His eyes broke from the card only to meet Bobby's. "Dis some kind of sick joke, homme?" The look in his eyes made the whisper more menacing.

"You dealt the cards, Cajun. You should know." Bobby answered, a sheet of ice starting to form over his skin. "You think I wanted this to happen? The only person I'd be glad to see stranded out there would be you." Once again it was Gambit who broke the tension, breaking away from the stare and walking from the table. "Where are you going, Gambit?" Bobby shouted after him.

"Do de only t'ing I can right now, pray." Frustrated with himself and with the Cajun, Bobby slammed his fist down and walked back toward the main cabin of the Starjammer, leaving Corsair standing there wondering what had just happened.


	10. Unfortunate Realities

" That, " Lilandra stated, staring squarely at A'nok, " is simply impossible. "

" I am afraid, Empress, that it is unfortunately very possible. While he may not be alive and well as you or I would consider such a thing to be, D'ken is in fact manipulating the Crystal from some remote location. "

" That location probably not too far from the Hentaan moon. " Ailon added for clarification.

For what seemed like the umpteenth time that day, Lilandra fell back onto a chair and stared out the window at the depths of space which were now tainted a permanent violet hue. " How? " She asked weakly, eyes roving back to A'nok slowly, yet not quite focused. The staff of office suddenly felt enormously heavy in her hand, and her unoccupied fingers absently stroked the velvety finish of the upholstery. " D'ken is dead. I saw him die! " The statement ended more like a plea. " How in the name of the Empire did he survive? "

A'nok let out a brief sigh, straightening into the position one would take at a lecturn. " The last thing D'ken did before his insanity got the better of him was bond with the Crystal. In essence, D'ken became the Crystal, and it D'ken. Thus why when D'ken's body was...well, destroyed the Crystal became unstable. " He paused, and Lilandra nodded, remembering all too well the weeks that the Phoenix had spent ravaging her Empire unchecked and uncheckable. A nightmare Lilandra feared she might soon have to relive. " So because D'ken was able to in some way bond with the fabric of the Crystal he was able to cheat the death of his body and escape into another reality where he did not die. "

" So what you are saying, " Lilandra interrupted, " Is that D'ken has managed to get into the Crystal in the reality he escaped to and come back to this reality. "

" Not exactly, Majestrix. " Ailon whispered, shuffling her feet on the carpet from the seat she had taken. " Because your brother has bonded with the Crystal he exists in all realities at once...except this one because he is dead. He is continuously aware of every reality that he is a part of, yet apparently from what our source tells us he has not yet found a reality that suits him. We can of course guess what type of reality D'Ken is looking for. "

" One where he takes the throne. " Lilandra spoke the thought floating through her councilors' minds. It was the one thing D'Ken could never have because the Phoenix, the guardian of the Crystal, has always acknowledged Lilandra as the rightful ruler, and therefore destroyed D'ken, and probably had done something of the sort in each reality. " The only thing this does not explain is why the Crystal abducted my Imperial Guard and three of the X-Men. " Alert now to new facets of the problem, Lilandra felt better capable of facing it, forming a solution. Empowered once more she stood and began to slowly walk the confines of the sitting area. Then, it suddenly struck her, and all motion stopped. " I've sent Charles and his students to their death! "

Once more D'tar looked over the computer readouts of the equation defragmentation program he had run on the remaining code from the holographic transmissions. There was no way that they could possibly be correct. According to the computer, the messages had been broadcast along a shortwave frequency band from less than three light years away from their current orbit at the farthest of the first transmissions and at one point from a place onboard the star cruiser. It made no sense to D'tar that someone would send a holographic transmission to someone aboard the same cruiser, unless that someone did not want Tes'ral to know that they were on board. The answer made no sense, but yet at the same time the pattern could only fit one vessel, and D'tar was almost positive that the conclusions his data was rapidly bringing him to had to be false. The only ship to dock with the cruiser within the past three days, in this position, that would broadcast along this particular frequency band and depth would have to be the Starjammer.

Nightcrawler approached the Crystal warily, his team of two following closely behind. "Smashing, so how exactly does one get into this thing?" Psylocke asked from Kurt's left. He had to admit it was a good question. How exactly did one enter a Crystal that was the central point of all existence? A door somehow seemed inappropriate.

He reached out one two fingered hand to trail his fingers along the surface looking for any clues, but instead his fingers simply went right through. "It vould appear we just walk right in." He stated, pointing with his free hand to the one buried in the Crystal. "Betsy, if you vould please tell Jean zat we are on our way inside." Betsy gave one sharp nod, the pinching together of her eyebrows the one brief clue that she was using her telepathy. "Watches verking?" he asked first Piotr, then Betsy. "Vonderful, zen it appears this is it." With that the three took one long stride through the side of the Crystal. Nightcrawler automatically braced himself for some kind of impact or effect. He closed his eyes and held his breath as if he was going for a swim. But it was simply as if he had merely taken one giant step forward. There was no impact, no shock, just lots of pulsating and glowing violet rock. "Mein gott, it is beautiful in here."

"Kay." Logan said impatiently from where he stood, or maybe just existed at this point, he wasn't sure anymore. "You found her, get her outta there."

Jahf smiled and shook his head. "I can't."

The impatience turned to a growl. "Whaddya mean, you can't?"

"If I just pull her out of this reality without warning, the shock would kill her. Rogue has to want to leave, like you did."

The way this little creature was continuously making sense was starting to grate on Logan's nerves in a way he had never quite experienced before. "So what can you do?"

"I can wait." Jahf stated simply, stubby little arms crossed over his round chest. Wolverine snarled in disgust and turned away. "Or, I could send someone in after her."

"Now yer talkin', bub." Wolverine smiled viciously. The little guy might be annoying, but in a way Logan was also starting to like him. "What do I do?"

Rogue knew that her lack of memory was really starting to annoy Remy, as well as the lack of physical contact. The pregnancy was obvious proof that they had been intimate, but she couldn't remember a time when she didn't have to shy away from touch for fear of hurting someone. So instinctually he reached and she ducked away, and no amount of pretending seemed to fix the problem. In fact it might even be making it worse, as evidenced by the current round of arguing. "Girl, I swear if I didn' love you so much I'd call dis whole t'ing quits!" And Remy in one of his rants was almost impossible to stop. "Y' don' remember gettin' married, y' don' remember gettin' pregnant, y can' even remember d' names we picked out t'ree weeks ago! Dis is gettin' ridiculous!"

"Well Ah'm sooooo sorry that I cain't remember all these wonderful milestone moments." Rogue snarled back. "Ya think Ah like lookin' in mah own weddin' album and wonderin' who picked out those awful bridesmaids' dresses and what mah weddin' song was. That sound lahk a good time to you, swamp rat?"

"Rogue, you picked out dose dresses!" His hands were in his hair, the way he wound them when he was too frustrated to express what he was thinking clearly. "Look, dere's obviously somet'ing wrong here an' we need to figure out what 'fore I go insane."

"There's nothin' wrong with me!" Rogue shouted back, her face glowing as red as his eyes.

"Did I say it was wit' you?!" Remy shouted back.

"You jus' want me to go see that red headed hussy so she can mess with my head, and then mess with you!"

"Oh yeah Rogue, I really want Scotty's leftovers. Leas' Jean ain't spiteful like some women I know."

"What are you sayin' Gambit?" Her voice was suddenly deadly quiet, piercing.

"Merde, I'm sayin' I need a drink. Don' wait up." With that he stalked out the door, trench coat in tow, slamming it behind him.

"Wouldn' dream of it, sugah!" She hissed at the door, then turned back to the window. "Aaaargh! What is wrong with meh?!" She shouted to the air.

"I got a few ideas, darlin'"

"Logan, what the hell are you doin' in my bedroom? An' if you say we're married too Ah'm gonna kill ya."

"Heh, not on your life, kid. But I do know why you can't remember anything."

"So you're sayin' I ain't crazy Wolverine? There's a logical reason foh allah this?"

"Don't know how logical it is, darlin'." Logan laughed at himself after a second, taking a seat on her bed. "But you an' I gotta talk, an' I wantcha ta hear me out all the way 'fore you go makin' any judgements."

"Sure Logan, ya got my attention."

Charles Xavier turned to what was left of his students. "Jean has just informed me that the infiltration team has entered the Crystal and Betsy says they are together and they are safe. As soon as she has more news she will let us know. It is, however, a good start."

"Ain't de beginnings dat matter though, Prof. S'de endin' everybody always waitin' for." Gambit stated clearly from the back of the room.

"You are correct, Gambit," Charles acknowledged. "But a good start is always better than a rocky one." Although he could not read the Cajun's mind, even with permission, because it was so protected at that moment it was easy to read exactly what Gambit was thinking in his eyes. "They will all be fine, Gambit. Rogue is a tough woman, I am sure she will return to us safely."

"Professor," Cyclops interrupted the staring contest between the two men before it became awkward. "There is a transmission coming in for you from the Empress. She wishes to speak with you immediately."

Steeling himself mentally, Charles followed behind Cyclops to the communications array. They were thankfully alone once Scott escorted himself out. "Charles." The holographic image nodded.

"Lilandra." He replied back.

The image sighed. "Charles, I have made a terrible mistake."

"Indeed you have, Lilandra."

"You do not understand. Charles I know what is happening to the Crystal, I know why. I have sent you and your students to your deaths. You must convince Corsair to turn back." The fear in her voice gripped him, never had she sounded so genuinely afraid.

"Lilandra, what have you learned?"

"The Crystal is..." The projection cut out, communications went dead, alarms and lights started blaring and flashing while Charles wheeled himself back into the main bay.

"Corsair, what is going on?"

"No idea, Charles. Just hold on, all I know is that we should..." Right before Charles' eyes someone knocked Corsair out cold.

"Dad!" He could hear Cyclops shout, then "Professor!" as he too succumbed to the warm numbness offered by the blow to the back of his skull.

" What do you mean their communication systems are not functioning?! " Lilandra shouted at her head engineer as the little Shi'ar scurried back and forth punching codes into panel after panel.

" I am sorry, Majestrix. " The man bowed his head as he scurried. I cannot access their communications systems, they have all gone dead.

" Get the Starjammer back on line, as soon as possible. " She shouted, storming across the room to meet with D'tar who had just come running in. " What? " She simply asked him, holding his gaze mercilessly.

" Empress you must get the X-Men off the Starjammer immediately, it is a matter of life and death! " D'tar shouted, caught up in the energy of the room around him, the anxiety on the brink of panic.

" I am aware of that councillor! " Lilandra practically spat. " What do you think I am in the process of doing? "

" Empress, please, you do not understand. " D'tar pleaded as she turned her back on him.

" Then explain it to me. "

D'tar took one big gulp of air. "The transmissions that Tes'ral was receiving," he stated in English for only herself and A'nok to hear. "The only place they could possibly have come from is the Starjammer."

"Corsair would never..." she paused debating. Perhaps Corsair would never work for D'ken, not after the man murdered his wife, but there was always a possibility others of his crew would. This was not a chance she could take. "A'nok, get me my sister and the commander of the Imperial War Fleet. The Starjammer must not be allowed to reach M'Kraan, no matter the cost."


	11. The Phoenix Lives

Meetings like this were frequently awkward for the two, coming so sudden and demanding, and always reminding "she whose name may never be spoken" who among them had managed to win the ultimate game of finders keepers. But as much as taking commands, especially from her younger and weaker sibling, grated along her hollow bones, Deathbird refused to let it show. She had become a master in her time of exile in more than simply battle, but political pomp as well. Her sister might be the Empress, but the people of Shi'ar didn't whisper her tales when they thought only few were listening. Deathbird enjoyed the incredibly complex situation her actions had placed them in.

Marching down the hall of the pitiful cruiser her sister had retreated to in the wake of the emerging "situation," Deathbird was entirely aware of just how imposing she looked in her black war armor with her own personal retinue of councilors trailing in her wake as she burst suddenly and steadily into Lilandra's chamber. "Good evening sister," she half smiled, taking a seat automatically without waiting to be invited. "Shall we cut directly to business and skip over the familial pleasantries?"

_She's enjoying this too much_, Lilandra thought, sitting delicately across from Deathbird. Instinctively she held the staff of office between her body and her sister, half to say 'I am Empress and you are my subject,' and the other half, 'Mine.' "Unfortunately, War Marshall, this business revolves entirely around familial pleasantries."

Deathbird cocked her head to one side, her opaque eyes glinting viciously. "Your brother, Lilandra. Not mine." A cruel smile spread across her lips at the thought. "Luckily, the madness seems to have come directly through your mother, and not through our father."

Begrudgingly, Lilandra gave her a silent point. There was nothing she could say in the presence of the Imperial Commanders that could be interpreted as questioning their leaders sanity without ultimately destroying the cohesion that made the Empire so strong. "Nevertheless," Lilandra raised her voice minutely, "he needs to be dealt with."

"He has been dealt with." Deathbird continued to grin. "I was under the assumption we were going to deal with other – more concrete problems. From what Shyna tells me," Deathbird nodded briefly towards the imposing looking Glythian warrior on her right, "our target is the Starjammer." She paused dramatically, sipping from a glass of wine that had appeared at the hands of some servant shortly after her entrance. "And the X-Men are aboard."

Much to her credit and the strength of her own will, Lilandra was able to maintain eye contact with Deathbird even as she watched the homicidal glee shimmer in her eyes. "The Glythian is correct, the X-Men are aboard."

"Superb." Deathbird stated in better English than even Lilandra could muster, as if to taunt her. "Tell me – oh sister mine – have you finally come to your senses after all this time?"

"My personal feelings are irrelevant." Lilandra simmered under the surface, but swiftly switched back to her native language. "My empire must be kept safe, and to do that the Starjammer must be destroyed."

"Fine and well," Deathbird shrugged, settling deeper into the plush chair. "Any preferences as to how it is to be done, or are you going to grant me artistic licenses in the matter?"

"So long as it is done I'd rather not know the details." Lilandra stated, visibly shaken by her own mental images conjured by her sister's suggestion. "However, you will be taking along an informant who knows more of what is going on than I can discuss here."

"I don't need help." Deathbird stated firmly, hands gripping the arms of the chair like claws.

"He is going along, he is trusted by our enemy. It will do you good to get to know his motivations, perhaps it will help you end this with little bloodshed." With that Mird'lan stepped out of the far shadows.

"I was not aware our enemy was a fool!" Deathbird shouted, laughing at the complete irony of the situation. The man who had almost betrayed the empress to her death, now in turn betraying her would be murderer to she herself. The very same man who had done such a good job of keeping her bed warm so many years ago, before his defection and for a time she had thought, his death.

"And I," Mird'lan stated, gallantly holding his emotions in check, "was not aware the Lady Deathbird made a habit of underestimating her opponents."

"I have only one opponent, traitor, but many victims."

Mird'lan mimicked the smile he saw on her face. "May I one day be lucky enough to be your next victim."

"In time, lover." Deathbird turned back to Lilandra. "For now you will have to wait your turn. My Empress' victims take priority over my own."

That said, Deathbird with her War Council in tow flowed back out the door, which shut slowly behind them all leaving Lilandra alone with only her council and her thoughts. "Dearest God," Lilandra whispered, looking into space through her window. "I have unleashed Death herself upon them, and I believe she is hungrier than ever for the kill."

* * *

"It is so odd," Piotr stated, half to himself as the team aimlessly wandered ahead. "How is it that something that is so beautiful can cause so much harm. It does not seem right."

Betsy snorted. "Of course it isn't right, darling. But that is the way of the world – or perhaps I should say universe – what is most beautiful is often what is most deadly, or some such garbage."

"Just like you mein dear Betsy?" Kurt laughed as he led the team deeper.

"Precisely." Betsy nodded, taking the rear behind Colossus. She was not about to mention it to her teammates, but the Crystal was starting to slowly drive her crazy. It was like there was a constant psychic buzz throughout every fiber of it, yet the more she tried to reach out and understand it the harder it was to grasp. Psychic white noise was the closest to a description she could come up with, and it was making it hard to concentrate on the mission at hand. "Bloody hell, Kurt." Psylocke finally stopped, tugging on Colossus to do the same. "This place is gigantic, how are we going to find this Jahf person if he doesn't want to be found. We don't even know if we're walking around in circles."

Kurt sighed, his tail twitching erratically behind him. "Have faith, Betsy. Somesing tells me we do not haf to go much farther."

"One of these days your faith is going to make us all dead, elf." Betsy muttered. She tugged lightly on her hair while she thought.

"I think Kurt is right, Elisabeth." Colossus chimed in. "I, too, think we will find what we are searching for shortly, we must keep moving. Standing in one place will accomplish nothing, da?"

"Optimists." Betsy huffed, then shrugged elegantly. "Well, boys seems it's two to one and I'm on the wrong end of the pitch. If you want, we'll keep moving on." Though as she moved on, she sent out a silent cry for help to Jean. _I don't know how much more of this I can take Jeannie. This damn Crystal is trying to put me in the loony. We're still moving on, but I'm not sure where we're going, if anywhere._

Outside, Jean got the message. _Hold on Bets, bolster your shields more if you can. You're hearing the psychic resonance of reality, just to ignore it as best you can._

_Easy for you to bloody well say, _was the only answer Jean got, which coming from Betsy was reassuring. "You look concerned, my friend." Storm stated, when she turned away from the M'Kraan Crystal to look at Jean.

"I am concerned," Jean shrugged. "Betsy just contacted me, I don't think I warned her enough about the pressure the Crystal can put on the mind of a telepath. She's handling it, but not well. If they don't find anything soon, for Psylocke's sake they may have to abort the mission."

"But we can't just leave Rogue and Sam and Wolvie here because the purple ninja's got her tights in a twist." Kitty shouted.

"No, Kitty, we can't." Jean gave her a weak smile. "I'd have to go inside in her place." To both her friends' credit they hid their initial reactions quickly.

"I'm sure Psylocke can suck it up and get this done." Kitty smiled, looking at Storm for support. Ororo just nodded. "Besides, since when has Betsy ever admitted she's failed at something?"

It was true, and the thought of Psylocke coming out the Crystal with her tail between her legs made Jean laugh. "True, but either way I should let the Professor know what's going on." Gathering her thoughts, Jean closed her eyes and prepared to call out to Charles. _Professor_. No answer. _Charles, can you hear me? Charles?_ Nothing. _Scott?_ Still nothing.

"What Jean?" Storm asked, focusing on her as she suddenly opened her eyes in shock. "Is there a problem?"

"I can't get the Professor, or Scott." Jean stared straight ahead. "Something is wrong on the Starjammer, Storm. I don't know what, but something is terribly wrong."

"How do you know, my friend?"

For a split second, Jean's eyes lit with a brief crimson flame. Had Ororo not been so totally focused on her eyes, she would have missed it. "She's told me Storm, but she doesn't know what."

"Who's she?" Kitty asked perplexed. Both Jean and Storm shot her a meaningful look that said unmistakably who 'she' was. "Ah, shit! Jean, not again."

* * *

There was something across his windpipe. It wasn't choking him, but it was heavy dead weight. Mustering the energy, Henry McCoy opened his eyes. This dead weight across his windpipe was wearing blue spandex. Rotating his head left, Beast identified the source. The blue spandex belonged to Scott Summers, who was also beginning to groggily come to. "Mr. Summers, if you would be so kind." Beast managed to spit out of his very inexplicably raw throat. "Could you remove your arm from my larynx?"

"Oh, uh, sure Hank." Scott coughed, trying to move, then looking down. "Bobby get offa me." Hank looked too, and sure enough there was Robert Drake pinning both of their legs down.

"Anyone get the license plate number?" Iceman wheezed as he tried to roll over. He made it about half way, then got stuck. "I can't move, what the hell is on my back?"

"My wing, stupid." Came a muffled response from a very unhappy Warren Worthington.

"Well keep your wings to yourself." Bobby grumbled back.

"Love to," Warren shot back. "Soon as Dr. Reyes gets off my shoulder."

"You're not the one pinned half way under a four hundred pound alien, Angel." The apparently not too worse for wear Cecilia spat back.

"Dat's it! If eveybody don' get off me in five seconds, Gambit gon' blow de whole room up!" Came a muffled shout from somewhere underneath him, and Hank suddenly realized what he had thought was a comfortable pillow was in fact the Cajun.

"That's it!" Scott shouted, then proceeded to cough while everybody stared. "Let's stop bickering and get ourselves sorted out so we can figure out what happened."

"Sounds good to me." A deep gutteral groan, replied. Followed by Ch'od slowly but surely removing himself from Dr. Reyes.

* * *

"Yah realize what yer sayin' sounds a little far fetched, sugah." Rogue said, slowly.

"Course it does, Rogue." Logan replied, sitting on the floor in front of her. "But we're X-Men, normal only happens to other people."

"It does now." Rogue whispered, putting one hand to her stomach, the other absently twirling her wedding band.

"Right, this is normal." Logan snorted, pointing around the room. "It's normal not to remember yer wedding, the death of a good friend, learnin' to overcome yer mutation. Sure Rogue, that's real fuckin' normal."

"How do Ah know you ain't jus' lost yer mind?" Rogue spat. "A memory lapse sure sounds more believable to me than what yer sayin'."

"Okay, think back Rogue. What was the last thing you remember before wakin' up next to the Cajun?" Wolverine stood and took each of her hands. "Remember all that meditatin' kid, think back. Last thing you remember."

Sighing, Rogue closed her eyes and started breathing deep. It was hard to get past the memories of the past couple days, in a way she didn't want to let them go. But she was starting to get a picture, words coming back to her. A conversation – no, an argument.

_"I don' like dis, chere. Promise Remy you'll be careful."_

_"Nah Cajun, Ah'm gonna go in there an' be reckless!"_

_"Y'know what I mean. 'M worried 'bout you, don' want nothin' ta happen t'ya." He tried to slip his arms around her waist from behind and hold her close, savoring their last few moments together before he disembarked, but she shrugged away from him and moved toward the front of the ship._

_"Thanks f'yoah concern, Cajun, but Ah'm a big girl now. Ah can take care o' mahself."_

Tears gathered in her eyes at the memory. "Ah was so wrong, Remy. You were right," she whispered. She was completely caught up in the memory until the door slammed open, and she jumped.

"F'got my coat." The other Remy spat, before looking and seeing Logan in his bed, holding his wife. He'd been angry before, now his eyes sparked like they only did when he was dangerously pissed. "Ah'm gon pretend, mon ami, dat y'sittin' in my bed, wit my wife cuz y'bein' a good friend, so's I don' gotta kick y'ass."

"Can it." Logan spat, looking back to Rogue for a decision.

"You were right, Wolvie." Rogue said, shaking her head slowly. "Ah'm sorry, Remy. Ah gotta go, this ain't how its sposed to be."

"What kinda nonsense you talking now, chere?" Remy asked, the anger slowly cooled by the confusion.

Rogue looked down at the floor to muster the courage, then looked straight into those eyes that made him seem so imposing to everyone else, everyone but her. "This isn't the way you and I were meant to be, Remy. Not now, not like this." A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Maybe someday, but not now. At least now I know what I have to look forward to." She stepped forward and gave him a small kiss. "Ah'm sorry, sugah."

"Sorry for what, chere?" Remy pleaded, reaching his arms out for her. "What d'ya mean y'goin'? What bout de baby?"

Another tear slid down her cheek. "Someday, Remy, it'll happen foah us. But today ain' it." That said, she turned her back to him and reached for Logan's hand. "Ah'm ready t'go home, sugah."

"Sounds good t'me, kid." As he grabbed her hand the room faded around her and with it the memories dimmed to a dream until she stood in the most awe inspiring world she had ever seen.

"Damn, Logan, where the hell are we?"

"You are at the center of all reality, welcome." The voice made her jump, she hadn't expected the tiny blue creature that greeted her. "I'm Jahf. You're Rogue." As suddenly as he had said it, he turned to Logan and ignored the fact she was there. "Your friends are here, it's time to leave. You will be needed outside. The time is desperate, and the time is now. She will do what she can, but the three of you will be needed. Your friends' lives may depend on it."

Rogue looked over to Sam, who sat almost lifeless on the floor ten feet away. Slowly he turned glazed eyes over to them, "She's almost too late, Jahf."

"She's never late." Jahf replied as vehemently as a three foot tall blue man could. "Now go, quickly." With that they found themselves shoved outside the room and outside the Crystal.

"How the hell did we end up back outside this bloody thing?" Rogue heard Betsy's voice shouting, along with the sound of fists pounding on what could have been glass.

"Bets?" Logan shouted.

"Wot?" Along the edge of the Crystal, first Betsy then Nightcrawler and finally Colossus appeared.

"What the hell are you three doin' here?" Logan laughed.

"Ve could ask you ze same question, mein fruend. Ve came to rescue you."

"Did you find any members of the Imperial Guard?" Colossus asked softly from where he towered behind the other two.

"They're gone," Sam shuddered, looking back at the Crystal. "It took them in, they couldn't let go." He cast a meaningful look back at Rogue who shuddered at the implication. "It ain't always easy ta let go."

"Samuel Guthrie, you sound like you've aged a millennia my dear." Betsy sniggered as they began to lead the three lost teammates back to the rally point where Storm, Jean and Kitty awaited them.

"A moment in that Crystal's longer than an eternity, Betsy. Ah never want to even set my eyes on it again."

"Dearest goddess." They could hear Storm's shout from a good forty yards away in the zero atmosphere. "You have found them."

"More like they had a little help." Logan stated, turning to look up into space. "Let's get back to the team now. We'll have all the time to catch up later."

"Wolvie's right," Kitty smiled, reaching to adjust the straps on her rocket powered maneuvering pack. "Let's get back to the ship so we can find out what Jean was talking about earlier."

"Jean?" Nightcrawler asked, looking at the woman as she stood transfixed, gazing at the sky unblinking. Slowly he followed her line of sight to a blazing dot in the sky. One dot quickly became five, then ten, then forty, all converging on one spot. "Jean, vat is that?" Kurt asked, catching the attention of the rest of the team.

"They're preparing to attack the Starjammer." She replied, her voice tight.

"So?" Rogue shrugged. "Bout time somebody taught them scoundrels a lesson."

"You do not understand Rogue," Storm stated, turning terrified eyes to her. "The rest of the team is all aboard the Starjammer. They will all be killed."

"No." The voice was ethereal, but it came from Jean's mouth. "I will not let Deathbird steal my chance at vengeance."

"Jean," Logan asked, turning towards her. "What th'hell are you talkin' about?"

"They are after the one who awoke me." As suddenly as she had said it, Jean's body shot into the depths of space toward what the rest assumed was the Starjammer. "The Phoenix lives."


	12. Falling Apart

Earthlings view of space combat was so oversimplified Deathbird thought as she watched her fleet converge on the apparently helpless Starjammer. They had such difficulty comprehending the three dimensionality of space, and it showed in Corsair's operations of the ship along a two dimensional playing field. Silently the last fighter slowed to sit within the correct coordinates of the containment grid formation she had planned around the ship. In a way it was too easy...it was too bad. For all that the crew and the X-Men both had been nothing but an ongoing annoyance for her for the past few years they were effectively worthy opponents. The warrior in her felt they deserved a more fitting death in battle than simply being destroyed while stranded on a lifeless vessel. The pragmatist in her disagreed.

"This suits you." The voice from her left stated, watching too as the fleet's weapons arrays powered on and locked.

"Battle always has."

"I was thinking more along the lines of politics." Mird'lan turned away from the screen to focus solely on her. "What change has occurred in my absence to cause the Lady Death to suddenly play by rules other than her own?"

"Nothing has changed," she smiled viciously, "I still only follow my own wishes."

"But your deference to the Empress..."

"You are correct Mird'lan, politics suits me." She shrugged and returned her view to the screen. "As my mother once taught me, one cannot hold the staff of office and rule concurrently. My sister holds the staff and so long as I keep her under the assumption that I wish to take it from her I continue to effectively rule. Let her be bogged down in mindless council sessions and court functions." A familiar glimmer shown in her eyes, "So long as she continues to follow my lead I see no reason to be rid of her. You, Mird'lan would be wise to follow her example."

"Far be it from me to question your motives." Mird'lan returned his attention to the subject at hand. "This almost seems too easy. Did the Empress not say the Starjammer was a threat?"

"Not the Starjammer," Deathbird gazed intently at the screen as if looking for something she knew was there but could not locate. "Those aboard the Starjammer...X-Men have a rather annoying habit of staying alive when you'd rather they didn't."

"And for those that are not aboard the Starjammer?"

"Justice." Neither expected the voice from the back of the observation deck, causing them to spin in what Deathbird would normally consider a very undignified manner.

"It cannot be." Mird'lan whispered.

"It is." She stated where stood, carrying with her the brightness of the heart of a sun. "Turn back your ships, Lady Deathbird. This is not your battle to fight."

"I think not, Phoenix." Deathbird stood, shock replaced by outrage at the being who had time and again ruined her most carefully crafted plans. "I am here on specific orders from the Majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire. I will carry those out, one whom we both have long fought is believed to be aboard the Starjammer. Today I end this!"

"My authority supercedes that of your Empress." The Phoenix stated as slowly one by one Deathbird's battle fleet vaporized on the screen in tiny spots of light. "The battle will be fought...but you of all mortals will not steal my chance at vengeance." The interior of the ship began to heat up as the visible energy signature the Phoenix carried flared. "I will not ask again, I am telling you turn back Deathbird. A good warrior knows when a battle cannot be won." And just as suddenly she was gone.

Mird'lan was visibly shaken as he turned back to Deathbird. "Do we leave?"

Reluctantly Deathbird turned back to the control deck. "We leave...and I must break the news to my sister." Punching a few codes into the panel she finished by punching the deck board next to it. "And I must hope I do not have yet another banishment to endure thanks to this damn Phoenix."

* * *

"So how did we get in here to begin with?" Bobby asked, leaning against what he had dubbed the far wall of the storage room they had found themselves dumped in. "Did we get drugged or something?"

"Indubitably," Hank commented from where he was inspecting what looked to be an entry hatch close to the ceiling. "Gas through the air system my friends. It would account not only for the loss of consciousness but also for the vocal soreness and dry throat that I am sure you all are currently experiencing."

"But what it doesn't account for, Hank is where the Professor is." Cecilia stated in her matter of fact way from her seat cross legged on the floor.

"Or Corsair." Hepzibah added snarling.

"Non, or how we gonna get outta here." Gambit remarked while he continued running his hands along the seams in the walls. "Ch'od," he shouted for the large alien, who lumbered over to his side. "Dis 'ere is your ship. What room we be in, mon ami?"

Ch'od looked around for a moment, pondering slowly. After a moment, his ear flaps pulled back flat against his head. "We're in the bulk storage I would guess. It sits on the bottom of the ship, underneath the living quarters."

"It got a straight exit into de marvelous depths of space out dere?"

Ch'od shook his head, "No, it definitely does not."

"Why out into space you be wanting to go?" Hepzibah asked curiously.

"Dat's just it chere, I don'!" Gambit replied a mischievous smile gracing his face. "Dat means de door M'sieur Bete be examinin' can lead t'only one place, de inside of dis ship. I ain' gotta worry I openin' up a hole into the great void beyond out dere."

"Just how, Gambit, are you planning on opening up that door?" Cyclops asked, shooting the Cajun a skeptical look.

A spark lit in Gambit's eyes. "I always got a card up my sleeve."

* * *

"Well," Betsy stated from where she stood on the surface of the moon. "This seems to have gone horribly wrong."

"Worse than I'm afraid you can imagine," Storm turned to look at Logan. "We have lost her again."

"She's a fighter darlin'." Logan stated, staring again into the depths of space above and beyond him. "She'll come back."

"But how do _we_ get back, Wolvie?" Kitty asked. "I still have enough fuel to get us back to the Starjammer. But I'm not hauling you all back there just so we can all get blown up."

They all looked up in time to see the first explosion, and their hearts sank. But then a second somewhere farther off, then a third. "Way to go Red." Logan smiled. "Looks like she's clearing us a path, folks. Any luck gettin' through to Chuck Betts?"

Betsy shook her head. "Nothing. There's too much bloody interference from this stupid rock. I haven't the foggiest clue what is going on aboard the ship."

"It looks like Jean has taken care of ze threat for now. Ze last ship is leaving." Kurt pointed one three fingered hand toward the sky where the largest of the interceptors was currently making its way back to the Imperial cruiser. "I say we go back to the Starjammer. I am sure zat everybody knows Jean has again merged with the Crystal. Ve should see what ve can do from zere."

"She ain't merged with the Crystal."

"Sam!" Rogue shouted, turning to look at him where he still stood with his back against the Crystal. He looked...different somehow. He looked wiser, but not necessarily older, like he had been tried in some ultimate test and forged into a stronger version of himself. "Boy, what in tarnation happened to you in there?"

Sam shrugged, "What happened to you, Rogue?" He watched as she blushed and turned away. "She ain't merged with the Crystal. She cain't. Cain't defend somthin' and be part of it at the same time. Don' work that way. Wolverine's right, we gotta get back to the Starjammer. Let 'er fight this thing her way, we fight it ours." He pulled himself away from the faceted stone and walked towards Kitty. "But we ain't headin' back to friendly ground. We gotta be on our toes."

"Why is zat?" Colossus asked, walking up to Cannonball with a newfound respect.

"Donno, just a gut feelin."

"Kid's probably right," Logan nodded. "Something's gotta be wrong if Corsair let himself get surrounded like that and didn't do anyting."

"I am sure you are both correct." Storm nodded. "We go back, but we must be certain to be prepared for the worst." That said she grabbed Kitty's hand as the rest of the team formed a line on either side of their transportation.

"Ride's gonna be a little bumpy guys." Kitty said as she again felt that click of pressure dissipate along the line of bodies. "Hang on tight." and she hit the power on her pack.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding!" Corsair shouted, and pounded again on the door in front of him.

"I believe he is far from kidding." Charles stated calmly from his chair not far from where the pirate stood.

"After all I...and we even...TRAITOR!" Corsair shouted louder towards the cockpit. "If we get out of here alive Charles, I'll kill him."

"When, Corsair. It is only a matter of time."

"You seem awfully sure of escape for a man in a wheelchair locked in a closet, Xavier."

Charles smiled. "My students are on this ship, one of them being your son. They are all fairly resilient and rather clever."

"And if they aren't on the ship, Charles? What then?"

"They are still alive, Corsair. I have no doubt of that. But just in case I have already alerted the Empress that we are in danger, if she has come back to her senses and calmed down Lilandra will send a vessel after us."

"I didn't know Lil was a spook too." Corsair smirked.

"She's not," Xavier tapped a small section of the control panel on his Shi'ar designed chair. "But she does have the receiver for my emergency homing beacon."

For the first time since regaining consciousness a true smile crossed Corsair's face. "And just where does an earthling get his hands on a direct signal homing beacon linked to the Empress' private frequency?"

Xavier smiled back. "Consider it payment for services rendered."

* * *

It was a funny thing, how fast a world could fall apart before one's eyes. Just this morning Lilandra had been wondering what she was going to do about getting the M'kraan Crystal under control. Now she sat and watched Charles' personal emergency homing beacon flash pathetically on her vid-com panel while Imperial battle cruiser vaporized before her eyes as the Phoenix danced her dance of death through this small corner of space. Absently she ran her hand across the soft fabric of her chair in her chambers...a gift from Charles.


	13. Showdown

At a complete loss for what Gambit was doing, Cyclops resigned himself to simply sit back and watch the thief at work. For fifteen minutes now he had been pawing his way around the crevices of one particular panel like a dog digging for a bone it knows is buried somewhere. Suddenly, he stopped and turned a mischievous grin to Ch'od, who was standing behind Cyclops at the moment. "Quite d'design my frien'. I recognize de work. Y'never tol' me you had contacts."

Ch'od laughed, "Who better to design a holding cell than a professional thief? Corsair's idea. Pretty good, huh?"

Gambit whistled which seemed to put everybody on edge. "Are you saying you can't get us outta here?" Bobby asked, edging his way over toward the panel Gambit had been eyeing seconds earlier.

"Not if I only had typical tools at my disposal, non."

"So with no tools that means..." Warren suggested from across the room. A room, Scott noticed that was beginning to get slightly claustrophobic.

"Who said I ain' got tools?" Remy laughed, slapping a hand on Iceman's shoulder and in turn steering him closer to the panel. "Tol' you I always got a card up my sleeve."

"And what card is that?" Bobby asked, now staring at the panel.

"You." Gambit answered. Bobby's eyes went wide with shock as he rounded on the Cajun.

"What d'ya mean me?"

"Simple Bobby. Cyc here can't blast trough dis panel and neither can I. Made outta tougher stuff dan dat. Amount of force we'd have to use would end up fryin' all of us in dis room in de process." Scott watched as Hank started to nod his head slowly in agreement, and he wondered if the good doctor was beginning to process Gambit's plan.

"Things shatter more easily when frozen." Hank muttered loud enough for most of the occupants of the room to hear.

"Zactly." Gambit smiled. "You freeze dis section of dis panel. Dat's where the locking mechanism is housed." He pointed at the particular seam for emphasis. "I put a small charge in one of my cards and slide it right in the crack and poof." He threw his arms wide. "The mechanism gone and we outta here."

"Then what?" Cyclops asked. "Obviously we need to assume that whoever put us in here is still aboard the ship. We need a strategy."

"Dat's yo business Fearless." Remy shouted over his shoulder while pressing Bobby's hands against the wall in the exact placement he needed. "I take care a' de hard part an' you boys can figger out de rest, I reckon."

* * *

_I will not pace_. Lilandra thought to herself, sitting on her portable throne in the make shift audience chamber the cruiser staff had appointed upon her arrival. The need to move, fidget, do something, was almost overwhelming. _I will not pace_. Empresses did NOT fidget, she distinctly remembered that lesson from her father prior to his abdication. She let out a silent snort. _Father_, she thought, _had you dealt with things such as these I do believe you would've fidgeted as well_. The news was not good, she didn't need an audience with Deathbird and her council to ascertain that. She had seen the live footage of the ships being vaporized, and she had seen the streak across the outreaches of space like a solar flare from an invisible sun. She _knew_ what had happened. This was simply details and formality.

The clang of the doors startled her momentarily, though a lifetime of training did not allow her to show it. Deathbird was not taking having her kill usurped very well. A decorative urn on a pedestal next to the entryway flew across the room, smashing on impact with the wall. _Not well at all_. "Deathbird, I saw the mission did not..."

"Phoenix!" Deathbird's shout cut Lilandra off before she could finish the thought. "She destroyed my fleet." She whispered menacingly, stalking her way towards the throne like the predator she was. "She is going to take the Starjammer."

Relief flooded through Lilandra's veins, followed swiftly by horror. "A'nok, transmit a view of the Starjammer to the screen. Now."

The mad gleam in Deathbird's eyes continued to shine as she pointed her gaze toward the vid screen. Her chest rose and fell in time with each audible breath she forced through her clenched teeth. "It was mine." Lilandra heard her growl as the image popped to life in front of them. A line of X-Men were making their way back to the ship from the outside, too miniscule to determine who exactly it was. The rest of the ship was encased in a warm glow that looked deceptively inviting. The only indication of it's origin was the way it pulsed in time with the Crystal below. It made Lilandra definitively sick to her stomach.

* * *

"Um, guys that glow can't be a good thing." Kitty said through her microphone as they got closer to the ship.

"I believe it is Jean's doing," Storm replied. "Why she has encased the ship I do not know."

"Jean or Phoenix?" Logan's voice came through the comm link.

"Both." That last was Sam. "Ain't one without the other. She knows that, she's learned."

"Samuel I swear you are going to have to spill what happened while you were locked up in that rock." Betsy this time, with more of an edge than usual, Kitty noted.

"Later, Betts. Right now there's more to worry about." Kitty heard Sam reply.

The feel of the radiation coming off the ship was like sulfuric acid running down her skin. Kitty had never experienced molecular activity so physically or so painfully before. "Sam's right." She shouted as she forced the composition of the others to conform along with her, pushing her way through the haze of the radiation like it was slimy ooze holding her in place. "Not dying is at the top of my list right now."

* * *

He rubbed his hands together greedily over the sensor displays. Eight bodies approached the ship at an angle that would have them intercept with the crew quarters. This was fine. The life support systems were remaining fully functional while the rest of the onboard systems were going out of control. Lights were flickering on and off, the occasional feel of the gravitational system weakening, security and navigation diagnostics flickered feebly across the panel. Everything was perfect. She was going to tear this ship apart bit by bit. When she did he'd be ready, his turn and his time would come.

* * *

As it froze the metal of the door began to creak and pop, the sound of the sub zero temperature forcing the molecules to condense more than they naturally did. Particles slowed down, and ironically Bobby realized it would be the sudden and intense speeding of those very same molecules that would allow them to escape from this intergalactic broom closet. For the first time he realized how truly opposite he and the Cajun were, it wasn't just their personalities or their morals. They were truly genetic exact opposites, Bobby froze things by bringing the molecules as close to still as possible, and Gambit made things explode by forcing molecules to energize to the point of instability. No wonder they couldn't get along. Finally satisfied that the metal was frozen through to the opposite side he backed away. "Done." He muttered, moving to stand against the far wall that Beast and Ch'od together had proclaimed the safest distance from the blast.

"_Bien_," Gambit nodded, inspecting the door briefly before wiggling a card into the crevice between the door and the wall. "Everybody ready to say 'cheese' when de door go boom?" Apparently satisfied with whatever answer he implied from looking at them Gambit forced a flash charge into the card and leapt for the rest of the group as it went off almost instantly.

There was dust...everywhere and the noxious smell of burnt titanium, at least if Bobby had to guess what burnt titanium smelled like that would be his guess. "I love inhaling carcinogens in the morning." he heard Cecilia choke out and then as the smoke cleared he was able to make out the silhouettes, then features of his teammates. A brief head count and there was a name for every body and a body for every name which was good. He looked over to the wall and there was a big hole where the door used to be, which was better (though it meant dealing with the Cajun's almighty ego for awhile).

The lights from the hallway were flickering sporadically and Bobby was starting to realize that the lurching sick feeling in his stomach was not due to nerves after all. Something was going on with the ship. "Something is wrong." Scott stated behind him, verifying his inexpert opinion. "That blast should've sent somebody running, and the ship seems to be losing power." Bobby watched Scott swivel his head toward Gambit, who was just picking himself up off the floor and dusting off his beloved coat.

"Don' look at dis boy, I ain' got no idea what all dis is about." He jerked his thumb toward Hepzibah and Ch'od. "P'rhaps y' should talk to de people who run dis here ship."

Hepzibah hissed at Scott's unasked question. "Losing power, we are. Siphoning it off something is."

"We could be under attack?" Ch'od shrugged. Bobby watched Scott shoot him a look and the alien grinned. "Okay, we know we're under attack. I meant somebody outside might be attacking the ship, draining the power cells to keep us immobile."

It made sense, Bobby thought, but he didn't like the sound of it. There were enough problems with a possible traitor, okay probable traitor, on board. Outside attackers only made things that much more difficult.

"Do you think it's Lilandra?" Scott asked

"Unlikely, that is." Hepzibah frowned, slowly making her way into the hallway. "Simply shoot us Deathbird would. Our power they do not need."

"Subtlety's never been her cup of tea, our Lady Deathbird." Ch'od laughed following a bit more confidently after Hepzibah.

"So who?" Warren asked.

Ch'od answered with a whistle. "Oh Scott," he called from a window looking out into the space beyond. "You might want to take a looksee at what your darling wife is doing to our ship."

Bobby would have sworn he felt a lead weight drop into his gut, from about twenty feet up. If Jean was doing this to the ship that could only mean one thing, and that one thing was bad...very, very bad.

* * *

This battle was like one she had never fought, on or off the Astral Plane. The Phoenix was a being of pure raw existence. Things like emotion, physical gratification and sensation were all foreign concepts, though greatly enjoyed while being experienced. These were also things the Phoenix could never get enough of. Yet at the same time, this was different. This was not the unthinking monster of years past. This was a sentient, reasonable, though still frightfully powerful and needy entity. Worse, it was angry. Angry for being awoken from an enjoyable slumber. Angry at the being who continued to try to defy it. And most of all angry at Jean for fighting with every ounce of her being to keep the Starjammer from being crushed like an empty soda can.

_Why do you protect them!_ It shouted at her as she kept the forces exerted on the ship from breaching the hull.

_Because they are family, they are friends, they are innocent_. She thought back.

_They are in the way._ It was frightening how this creature who could destroy worlds in the blink of an eye was so quick to toss aside things simply because they were "in the way." It made Jean sick.

_That does not give us the right to destroy them_.

Silence for a moment, the pressure lifted ever so slightly. Enough for Jean to breathe. _Why?_ It wasn't so much a question as just the idea of a question being passed to her via thought. A search for understanding where there was none.

_You protect the ones you love. You care for those you need. You need me._ She felt the power acquiesce. _I love my family_. Again an acknowledgement of understanding. _You kill them, you hurt me. You need me whole, not broken. We cannot fix things if I am broken_. She tried to send the idea of "broken" tied in with emotions, hoping it would get the idea across.

_Do we still kill the deceiver? _This was somehow important, more so than Jean could comprehend. She had a funny feeling that it was not something for mortals to comprehend. _Even if he is family?_

Jean thought that over briefly. _If he is the deceiver he is no family of mine_. That seemed to be agreement enough for the Phoenix, it's strangle hold on the Starjammer dropped and rather than destroying the ship they entered it together as one being, of one mind. For the Phoenix it was the destruction of one who threatened the universe that she had sworn to protect and for Jean it was to punish the one who had threatened the safety of her family and loved ones. Upon realizing this Jean received a silent acknowledgement from the other entity currently inhabiting her body, their missions though different were the same. One body bringing about the end to two problems. It was satisfactory.


End file.
